5 Cambodian fishermen arrested for raping French tourists at knifepoint on Thai island

Five Cambodian fishermen have been arrested for a brutal attack on a group of French tourists in which two women were raped at knifepoint on an isolated Thai beach, police said on Monday (Feb 29).

It is the latest high profile assault on foreign visitors in Thailand, a country that is hugely reliant on its lucrative tourist trade.

Investigators said four French holidaymakers were attacked late Saturday on Ko Kut (also known as Koh Kood), an underdeveloped island close to Cambodia's western border with Thailand.

Police said the attackers allegedly swam from their fishing boat to assault the group, reported AFP via The Straits Times.

Two injured male victims escaped to raise the alarm. When locals and police reached the scene, the five attackers ran off but were swiftly apprehended, police major general Nopparat Rinthaphol told AFP.

"They (the attackers) all confessed and police have already brought them to do a re-enactment," he added, referring to a common police technique where the accused replay their crimes for investigators, often in front of the media.

The alleged assailants have all been charged with rape and violent assault while the victims have been taken to hospital on the mainland.