A 21-year-old Sydney woman has been sentenced to 15 days jail in Phuket for falsely accusing a local taxi driver of assaulting her.
The woman, whose name has not been released, told Thai police she was the victim of an assault early on Sunday on the resort island and that two other Thai men restrained her during the attack.
The report, confirmed by Phuket Provincial Court sources, said the woman initially told the officers she become separated from her boyfriend in a nightclub area of Patong early on Sunday morning.
She said she was taking a taxi back to her resort when the driver picked up two other men.
She alleged he then drove to a secluded area and assaulted her while the other men held her down. Afterwards, they took her passport and cash.
However, Phuket police said they interviewed the women over two days before she confessed to fabricating the story after security camera footage revealed she had been safely taken back to her resort by a motor bike taxi driver.
After confessing to giving false evidence the woman was detained and held in a local cell.
Deputy Superintendent of the Phuket Kathu district Police station, Colonel Sermphan Sirikong, told a local newspaper the allegations had the potential to harm Phuket's reputation as a holiday destination.
"It's sad that tourists have to lie about this kind of thing," Col Sermphan said. "It could damage Phuket's tourism industry."
The woman faced the court on Friday in the company of Australian consular officials.
Officers at the Kathu Police Station and provincial court officials were unable to provide the woman's name when contacted by AAP.
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