“A Cambodian Man Came Out of the Wardrobe and Sexually Assaulted Me”

Japanese media reported today that, in late November, Japanese police arrested Pat Thra, a 24-year-old Cambodian construction worker, on suspicion of rape and unlawful entry into a residence. Japanese online outlet News Post-seven reported today that the incident occurred late on September 22. A woman in her 50s living in Akiruno, Tokyo, told police: “The wardrobe suddenly opened and a foreign man came out. He sexually assaulted me against my will.” The suspect worked in road paving in Japan. (Illustrative image) Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested the suspect, who lived in the city, after analysing surveillance footage. Pat denied the allegations, saying: “I don’t know about it and was not involved.” According to the report, Pat lived with colleagues in a construction company’s staff dormitory in the city. Japanese reporters were told: “Thra started working for our company in July. He lived on the ground floor near the entrance.” A friend described him as gentle and kind, saying they had heard of no bad habits or wish to find a girlfriend. “We knew nothing that night, and he showed nothing unusual afterwards, so we were all shocked and sickened by his arrest.” The friend recalled the day of the arrest: “On the morning of November 30, five or six detectives came and searched the dormitory for a long time, then took Thra away. We haven’t seen him since and still don’t know whether he actually did it.”