This is the intense moment police turned away to let furious parents attack an alleged paedophile who was caught abusing their daughter.

The suspect named Chakkaphan, 47, was said to have fondled and groped the girl, 12, who had been shopping for snacks at a convenience store in Nonthaburi, Thailand, on January 26.

The girl immediately told shop staff who detained the man. They called the girl's mother Duan and her father Ton, who arrived at the scene demanding to see CCTV footage from the shore.

Upon being caught on camera allegedly molesting the girl, Chakkaphan flung his groceries onto the shop counter and fled onto the street. CCTV footage shows him in a blue shirt sprinting across the kerb as the father Ton trailed behind him.

Chakkaphan was caught in an alley beside a massage parlour across the road, around a mile away.

The massage shop security guard said: 'I was on duty when I saw the man in a blue shirt running into the alley.

'He was being chased by another man in a black shirt on the road. I followed him to the alley and saw him hiding in a corner beside the shop.

'When I asked his name, he wouldn't answer me. I thought he was very suspicious, so I blocked his path. Police arrived later to catch him.'

Police officers were seen in the video turning a Nelsonian eye by looking down at their phones as the enraged mother kicked and punched Chakkaphan. He was then hauled to the local police station.

A police spokesman said: 'We have been trying to interrogate the suspect, but he has been uncooperative, refusing to answer our questions or even have his fingerprints taken.

'A drug test found he was clean. We are trying to see if he has a previous criminal record. We are also attempting to find his relatives to give us more information.

'The suspect has been taken to the Phra Nang Klao Hospital for a physical examination before he is taken into police custody again.'

The girl's mother Duan claimed Chakkaphan was a repeat offender and had previously groped her daughter in 2022.

She said: 'My daughter had met the man at a convenience store before. He kept elbowing her breasts with his arm. She went back home to tell me but we did not file a report with the police. This time, he fondled her thighs. She recognised him as the same man, so we decided to finally take legal action against him.

'The police told me an investigation was needed before the man could be jailed. I refuse to drop this case because I want to see him behind bars. It's not the first time he has done this, and it won't be the last if he is allowed to walk free. I don't want him doing the same thing to other girls.'

Miss B, the girl's friend who was with her when the alleged groping occurred, said: 'While walking along the snacks aisle, we saw the man standing in front of a shelf to choose snack. We were walking past him when he reached out and rubbed my friend's thigh with his fingers.

'I kept an eye on him to prevent him from escaping, while my friend ran back home to tell her parents. At first, I thought it was just an accident, but she definitely recognised him and said he had touched her breasts before.'

Police said no charges have been formally filed against Chakkaphan.

Women's rights advocates have been urging lawmakers to pass more comprehensive laws to protect women and girls from sexual harassment in Thailand.

Jaded Chouwilai, director of a local gender equality non-government organisation, said: 'The Thai legal framework has significant weaknesses, and laws pertaining to sexual harassment primarily focus on workplace harassment faced by civil servants. These laws do not offer protection to women who are not civil servants.'