Chencho Dema

The Family and Child Bench of the Thimphu District Court yesterday sentenced 25-year-old Choten Tshering to life imprisonment for the rape and murder a 13-year-old girl in Pamtsho, Thimphu.

In addition to the life sentence for murder, the culprit was handed a 14-year sentence for rape, which will be served consecutively. This ruling aims to deter similar heinous crimes in the future.

The convict was charged for two offences—rape of a child above the age of 12 years and murder.

The court’s decision was supported by substantial evidence, including Choten Tshering’s guilty plea, CCTV footage of him approaching the crime scene, a crime reconstruction video, genital examination reports, and DNA evidence confirming his involvement.

The convict is from Mongar and was working in one of the shops in Thimphu.

The Office of the Attorney General registered the case with the court on July 16.

Background

On the morning of May 23, the victim left her home to visit a friend, planning to go to Dechenphu Lhakhang. Her friends had already left for the Lhakhang and she followed her friends on foot, towards the Dechenphu Lhakhang.

She was last seen walking toward the site when she encountered Choten Tshering, who was seated on a culvert, smoking.

They walked a few metres before the suspect forcibly dragged the victim to the forest.

When the deceased resisted, the convict assaulted and raped the victim. He covered her mouth with soil, strangled her with a rachu (scarf). He then concealed her body with her kira and dry leaves, before striking her head with a rock.

A post-mortem examination confirmed the cause of death as asphyxia due to ligature strangulation and choking from soil, alongside a traumatic brain injury from blunt force trauma.

The victim, a Class VI student, was reported missing when she did not return home. Her body was discovered by police search parties the following day on May 24.

The police identified the convict through CCTV footage from a nearby building in Pamtsho.  The camera had captured the suspect walking alone shortly after the victim.

Following the incident, the convict had fled to Paro. A manhunt for the convict was launched, eventually arresting him from Ramthangka in Paro on May 30. The police managed to track him down using his mobile tower location.

During the interrogation, he confessed to murdering the girl while under the influence of marijuana and alcohol.

The convict has a past criminal record, having been convicted of malicious mischief in Bumthang.