The investigation saw immediate progress after lawyer Songkran Atchariyasap, who chairs a network that seeks to counter affronts to the nation, religion and the monarchy, arranged for the victim’s family to air their grievances directly to Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul at a meeting on Tuesday.

The network felt that the police had been reluctant to take action against alleged attackers, possibly because one of the suspects is the son of a retired police officer.

Songkran said there was “convincing evidence” to suggest the girl was drugged at a gaming café before being sexually assaulted.

On Wednesday, the Anti-Human Trafficking Division applied for arrest warrants for a third and fourth suspect in the case, one of them a 20-year-old woman. They are suspected of trying to procure the girl for sexual services following the attack.