Late last week, Chiang Mai governor Pawin Chamniprasart visited the home of two Hmong girls accused by a British tourist of stealing her wristwatch. Mr Pawin's visit was a gesture to reaffirm the girls' innocence. When Mr Pawin visited, the girls' mother performed a traditional ritual in their house to boost the morale of her daughters after their pictures appeared, late last month, on several international outlets including the New York Post and The Sun with headlines suggesting the girls stole the tourist's watch.
The allegation was a result of a single photo on Reddit.com, which shows the grinning female tourist holding hands with the two children in Hmong dress. The seven-year-old girl pictured on the right appeared to be fiddling with the tourist's watch. The caption said, "Girlfriend in the progress of having her watch stolen."
Apparently, that picture alone is enough for the British tourist and everyone else to accuse the girl of stealing. The story of the alleged young thief was sensationally played up by several international media outlets later.
The Sun said in its main headline, "Can you spot the crime?" It went on to state: "A woman's watch was stolen in Thailand as she posed for a photo with two children." The web post garnered many comments from the viewers who blamed the girls for robbery.
The New York Post said in its headline, "Sneaky kids accused of robbing tourist in Thailand."
The story goes, "This is the moment a pair of kids allegedly swiped a tourist's watch right off her wrist while posing for a photo with her in Thailand, according a Reddit post."
The article went on, "The couple only noticed that the woman's watch was missing after looking through their vacation photos."
The woman's boyfriend posted in the comments section under the picture: "This pic solved the mystery of the missing watch."
The allegation was groundless from the start; there was no formal charge by the tourist over the lost watch.
Thai police said they were not aware if the British tourist had lodged a complaint that the girl had stolen her watch.
In fact, after the international media outlets broke the news, police officers were trying to find the British woman to help her find her watch -- but they were unable to locate her.
But it did not matter whether a formal robbery charge was made.
The image went viral and was passed through several international media outlets and, in doing so, placing a nasty stigma on the girls even though they were not convicted of any crime.
The __news brought a bad name to the Hmong community. The village headman called a meeting with all Hmong children and advised them to be careful with foreign tourists.
Under international pressure, Chiang Mai tourist police investigated the case. The girls did not have criminal records. During the investigation, the seven-year-old girl said she did not do it because she was taught not to take anyone's possessions. She told police that once she picked up a keychain left by a tourist and she returned it to the owner.
The girls and their parents were saddened by the report. As a sad aftermath, the girls were asked not to go to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep where they earned extra income by posing with tourists.
The girls, however, were cleared of any wrongdoing. It was also reported (not so sensationally) that the tourist had found her watch somewhere else. Police officers was nonetheless unable to locate the lady to confirm whether her watch was actually found.
This incident might sound like a happy ending for the tourist if she found her lost watch. However, the real story here is how the basic rights of two accused girls, especially the seven-year-old, were violated by adults.
These media outlets are simply looking for thousands of clicks with their sensational stories. __news articles like this might be short-lived for consumers in this digital era, but they can result in a lasting stigma on people affected by them.
It does not matter whether media outlets argue they reported later that the girls were off the hook after they were cleared. Their faces and the allegations were already spread around the world.
In fact, even if the girl had stolen the watch, the crime would be nothing compared with the transgression that the adults have committed by violating their professional ethics. It is wrong to show the faces of the accused girls and print unfounded allegations against them as if they were facts.
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