A 43-year-old van driver was arrested after a Ukrainian woman complained to police she was raped after asking him to share his internet connection with her so she could contact her friend.

Police said the man, identified only as Sukan, was arrested at a snooker club in Muang district about 5pm on Sunday.

The man allegedly confessed that he had lured a Ukrainian woman into his van and raped her before taking her back to her accommodation in tambon Kamala.

The woman filed a police complaint about 5.30am on Sunday.

She said she initially used a ride-hailing app to have a motorcyclist pick her up at a hotel on Sri Soonthorn Road and take her to a place in Muang district where she expected to meet a friend.

After being dropped there, she was unable to find her friend. She had no internet connection to contact her, so she looked for someone whose internet she could share. She asked the van driver. 

The suspect allegedly admitted raping the woman at the entrance to a housing estate on Chaloem Phrakiat Road between 2am and 3am on Sunday after she approached him.