BANGKOK: A Thai court on Thursday sentenced the country’s first Olympic gold medallist to just over three years in prison for the abduction and attempted rape of a teenager.
Somluck Kamsing, now 52, became a national hero when he won featherweight boxing gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
The Khon Kaen provincial court found Somluck guilty of child abduction for molestation and attempted rape, before granting him an appeal and bail.
“For attempted rape by force and taking a person over the age of 15 but not over 18 for the purpose of indecency, the first defendant’s actions constitute a single offence that violates multiple laws,“ a court statement said.
Somluck filed a request for bail, which the court granted at 300,000 baht ($9,000) while he pursues his appeal.
The court ordered him to pay $5,000 in damages.
A 17-year-old girl filed a complaint in December 2023 against Somluck saying he had assaulted her in a hotel in Khon Kaen, a city in the kingdom’s northeast.
Somluck, who also won boxing titles at the 1994 and 1998 Asian Games in Hiroshima and Bangkok respectively, denied the allegations.
Police confirmed local media reports at the time that Somluck met the teenager at a bar, where they stayed until 3:00 am, before the incident took place.
