Slavery In Thailand

[soundman]

City woman convicted of keeping girl as house slave

SANITSUDA EKACHAI

A Bangkok businesswoman was yesterday sentenced to seven years in jail for keeping a girl from Buri Ram province as a slave. It is the first time in Thai legal history that the anti-slavery law has been enforced, despite widespread slave-like labour in sweat shops and private households.

On top of the seven-year sentence, the Criminal Court gave Wipaporn Songmeesap, 50, another 31/2 years in jail for inflicting severe physical harm on her underage maid and ordered her to pay 200,000 baht to the girl in compensation.

The woman was released on bail.

''This landmark case will help many other victims of slavery fight for justice,'' said rights lawyer Siriwan Vongkietpaisan.

Previously, abusive employers were only charged with physical abuse and/or violations of the labour law which carry less severe punishment, the lawyer said.

Even when the victims were locked up and subjected to slave-like working conditions, the police generally refused to slap employers with slavery charges, saying the victims were not chained and there was no legal precedent for them to follow.

Hired as servant by Wipaporn in 2003, the 13-year-old girl was forced to work from 4am till midnight with no days off.

The court heard her chores included cooking three meals a day for a family of five, cleaning the house, laundry, washing cars and whatever she was told to do.

She was given only one or two meals a day. For each meal, she was allowed only a small portion of cold rice with the bosses' leftovers, or simply with chilli.

When her boss was angry, the girl was not allowed to eat at all that day. She was also prohibited from leaving the house or contacting her parents.

If the girl did not finish work on time, Wipaporn would beat her with an iron rod, belts or even a piece of furniture.

After a year of unpaid labour and repeated abuse, the girl was sent home with a fever and seriously infected wounds on her head and back.

Stunned by her condition, the village head sent the girl to Buri Ram Hospital.

The girl has since been recuperating at an emergency home. With psychological therapy, the girl no longer suffers from nightmares and bouts of anxiety, said social worker Nattiya Thongsriket.

''She is also doing very well in school which shows the potential of poor rural girls if given a chance to study,'' she said.

After calmly listening to the verdict, Wipaporn, a mother of four, was freed on bail. Her lawyer said she would appeal.

Soundman. - We have several live in house staff. They are well treated, work reasonable hours, get pocket money on top of their salaries etc. They are, however, locked into time specific contracts to work in our household. They can leave at any time, however, there would be a finacial penalty to their agent if they do so.

Would this be considered slavery??

Soundman.

[kmart]

Yes it is slavery. A lot of Bangkok households employ Burmese / Cambodian maids and servants too. Because of the historical enmity between Thailand and neighbouring countries, institutionalised racism and abuse is common.. The foreign slaves have no legal recourse, usually due to their illegal status here; and its only when rich, supposedly "hi-so" families get caught abusing their Thai National servants that any action is ever taken...

[PhilHarries]

I remember this case being highlighted in the Bangkok Post a while back. Thanks soundman for posting this as I was interested in the outcome. Maybe this will send shockwaves through the hi-so's community and just maybe will be the catalyst for change.

The woman was released on bail.

Or will it? I have a cold feeling inside brought on by those six words.

[Mobi]

City woman convicted of keeping girl as house slave

SANITSUDA EKACHAI

A Bangkok businesswoman was yesterday sentenced to seven years in jail for keeping a girl from Buri Ram province as a slave. It is the first time in Thai legal history that the anti-slavery law has been enforced, despite widespread slave-like labour in sweat shops and private households.

On top of the seven-year sentence, the Criminal Court gave Wipaporn Songmeesap, 50, another 31/2 years in jail for inflicting severe physical harm on her underage maid and ordered her to pay 200,000 baht to the girl in compensation.

The woman was released on bail.

''This landmark case will help many other victims of slavery fight for justice,'' said rights lawyer Siriwan Vongkietpaisan.

Previously, abusive employers were only charged with physical abuse and/or violations of the labour law which carry less severe punishment, the lawyer said.

Even when the victims were locked up and subjected to slave-like working conditions, the police generally refused to slap employers with slavery charges, saying the victims were not chained and there was no legal precedent for them to follow.

Hired as servant by Wipaporn in 2003, the 13-year-old girl was forced to work from 4am till midnight with no days off.

The court heard her chores included cooking three meals a day for a family of five, cleaning the house, laundry, washing cars and whatever she was told to do.

She was given only one or two meals a day. For each meal, she was allowed only a small portion of cold rice with the bosses' leftovers, or simply with chilli.

When her boss was angry, the girl was not allowed to eat at all that day. She was also prohibited from leaving the house or contacting her parents.

If the girl did not finish work on time, Wipaporn would beat her with an iron rod, belts or even a piece of furniture.

After a year of unpaid labour and repeated abuse, the girl was sent home with a fever and seriously infected wounds on her head and back.

Stunned by her condition, the village head sent the girl to Buri Ram Hospital.

The girl has since been recuperating at an emergency home. With psychological therapy, the girl no longer suffers from nightmares and bouts of anxiety, said social worker Nattiya Thongsriket.

''She is also doing very well in school which shows the potential of poor rural girls if given a chance to study,'' she said.

After calmly listening to the verdict, Wipaporn, a mother of four, was freed on bail. Her lawyer said she would appeal.

Soundman. - We have several live in house staff. They are well treated, work reasonable hours, get pocket money on top of their salaries etc. They are, however, locked into time specific contracts to work in our household. They can leave at any time, however, there would be a finacial penalty to their agent if they do so.

Would this be considered slavery??

Soundman.

I don't know about slavery, but I strongly suspect that by using an agent you are condoning an illegal business.

I don't know why you use an agent. I know it is sometimes difficult to find good domestics, but IMHO, agents are not the solution. Most of them have their hands very dirty, and God knows what they are extorting from the poor staff at your house, and how much they paid to the villages they come from

to 'buy' these people.

Hire your own staff and distance yourself from this shoddy labour business.

P.S. there is a New press clippings thread today where shrimp processing factories have been found using slave Burmese labour. The response of the management?

"It wasn't us, officer, honest , - it was a contract broker who supplied them!!!!"

Edited April 25, 2007 by Mobi D'Ark

[lannarebirth]

I agree. Stay away from all middlemen/agencies. They are by and large criminal organizations. If you like your staff, have then terminated when their contract with the "agency" expires and rehire them independently.

[soundman]

I agree. Stay away from all middlemen/agencies. They are by and large criminal organizations. If you like your staff, have then terminated when their contract with the "agency" expires and rehire them independently.

I tend to agree with your post & the one by mobi. When I first came to live in thailand, it actually took me about a year to get used to having live in house staff. My friends & aussie family were shocked as well.

The current house staff are actually off contract. They worked for a year on contract, went home to Laos, & then returned of their own accord six weeks later. (with passports this time).

The agents, AFAIK, usually only get an upfront finders fee. Whether they get anything on the back end I have no idea.

Personally the idea of village's organising their teenage labor this way doesn't sit well with me, however, the village's would have no other way of finding suitable employment positions for many of their residents otherwise.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[leisurely]

I read that article in todays paper while I was sitting in the hospital. It made me wonder how many other girls there are like that unfortunate one. I know in my block of flats there are two Burmese girls, I don't know how old they are but I suspect around 14. They work for a very wealthy Thai family and never seem to get any time off. One of the girls seems to be employed to carry her Madam's handbag and the rest of the shopping. I do know that last year during Songkran a Cambodian and Burmese girl that she employed went out together and got arrested. When I asked Khun X about this she told the story without any emotion. I asked her what she was going to do about it (arrange a solicitor or bail thme out) and she just said she would find some more . The arrogance of some people is astonishing.

[uptou]

i lived near the burmese border for a couple of years & you realise that there are many burmese girls living in the employers household who dont really have a life outside the 40 baht a day job,& i know of one particular place where the owner has made it clear to the girls that she doesnt want them talking to people outside (ive seen this a fair bit in thailand),whether this is slavery or more paranoia,i dont know.i also know some good thai people with burmese staff who are like families,but at the end of the day they are cheap labour.

[Heng]

It's important to note that slavery and employing people at low wages are not one and the same.

[uptou]

agreed heng,just not sure where one,starts to slightly merge into the other.

[torngseea]

Hired as servant by Wipaporn in 2003, the 13-year-old girl was forced to work from 4am till midnight with no days off.

The court heard her chores included cooking three meals a day for a family of five, cleaning the house, laundry, washing cars and whatever she was told to do.

She was given only one or two meals a day. For each meal, she was allowed only a small portion of cold rice with the bosses' leftovers, or simply with chilli.

When her boss was angry, the girl was not allowed to eat at all that day. She was also prohibited from leaving the house or contacting her parents.

If the girl did not finish work on time, Wipaporn would beat her with an iron rod, belts or even a piece of furniture.

After a year of unpaid labour and repeated abuse, the girl was sent home with a fever and seriously infected wounds on her head and back.

Stunned by her condition, the village head sent the girl to Buri Ram Hospital.

Difficult to describe how I feel reading this - I'm not violent man but some Singapore-style public caning should be added to the jail sentence.

I agree with PhilHarries, those words,

'the woman was released on bail'

sound like Hi-So (Lo-Life?) slang for 'How much to make this go away?'

[webfact]

Hired as servant by Wipaporn in 2003, the 13-year-old girl was forced to work from 4am till midnight with no days off.

The court heard her chores included cooking three meals a day for a family of five, cleaning the house, laundry, washing cars and whatever she was told to do.

She was given only one or two meals a day. For each meal, she was allowed only a small portion of cold rice with the bosses' leftovers, or simply with chilli.

When her boss was angry, the girl was not allowed to eat at all that day. She was also prohibited from leaving the house or contacting her parents.

If the girl did not finish work on time, Wipaporn would beat her with an iron rod, belts or even a piece of furniture.

After a year of unpaid labour and repeated abuse, the girl was sent home with a fever and seriously infected wounds on her head and back.

Stunned by her condition, the village head sent the girl to Buri Ram Hospital.

Difficult to describe how I feel reading this - I'm not violent man but some Singapore-style public caning should be added to the jail sentence.

I agree with PhilHarries, those words,

'the woman was released on bail'

sound like Hi-So (Lo-Life?) slang for 'How much to make this go away?'

My guess "released on bail" because of an "appeal"

[seagull]

Difficult to describe how I feel reading this - I'm not violent man but some Singapore-style public caning should be added to the jail sentence.

I beg your pardon sir, If I am not wrong there is no such "public caning" in Singapore. I do believe caning is carried out in the confined of prison premises and with a doctor in attendance.

[JimsKnight]

It does exist, but I think its very well hidden. Some workers at some establishments are forbidden to have a social life and face the sack if they do. Few of them are independant enough to 'do their own thing.' In a sense they are bonded labour, not necessarily physically prevented from leaving but pretty much mentally prevented due to the master / servant relationship and or their immigration status.

I've only once possibly saw something akin to slavery in Thailand but it was enough to leave a ugly sense of mankinds darker side. When I was at Venus Park whch is a unique Jungle nightclub in Koh Tao. A girl accompanied by an older woman and man was there. As I was dancing with her I started talking and got the sense that something was wrong. Then this hulking beast of a thai woman barked "You buy her drink!" in an agressive way. I asked her who she was and she wouldn't tell me. Now the girl seemed to be drugged but I couldn't be sure. It was clear they were not employees there, and not from the island but likely Surat Thani or Samui and something akin to pimpery was the deal. Then she grabbed the girl like she was an item to be bartered and explained I had to buy her a drink or give her money for her time! Telling the beast to 'fck off!' in no uncertain terms I went away to a different area. I got talking to another Brit there and told him of what had happened, to my suprise he too told of being approached and money demanded from him by this beast woman!

About half an hour later I was at the entrance when I saw the thai man physically dragging the girl away at great speed down the steps towards a pick-up getting yelled at. Hardly in a fit condition to intevene (drunk and outnumbered) I was resigned to look an and muse how slavery and bonded workers were not unknown here in Thailand.

[jumnien]

Slavery exists in many forms in modern day Thailand. Many foreign men land on its shores and become absolute slaves to their own compulsive sexuality and low self-esteem. Liberation is possible!

[Douggie Style]

Replying to the original post:

As an employer, it is definitely something to consider.

As regards what is slavery, I think you would need to read the definition in the relevant Thai code [maybe someone can post that] and then consider each element .

Here is a definition from another jurisdiction:

For the purposes of this Division, slavery is the condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised, including where such a condition results from a debt or contract made by the person.

In that jurisdiction, freedom of movement outside the abode [despite any appalling employment conditions or physical violence] works against the presumption of slavery. It is difficult to prove slavery.

In contrast, if you have a servant living in a gated house, without a key, some type of restrictive contract etc etc you may well open yourself up.

True slavery is an odious practise and anyone doing it deserves whatever they get, it is really a quite a pleasing decision, it will be interesting to see how it pans out and if the old boiler does do any jail time.

[November Rain]

Again, this is Asia wide, not just Thailand. Look at some of the court cases against employers in HK or Singapore with Filipina or Malay maids. Taking passports away is common practice, not legal but common. Forcing 2 or 3 maids to sleep in a room no bigger than a cupboard. Working them all hours of the day or night, beatings, burnings with hot irons...

The abuse of domestic helpers is widespread. And, I hate to say it, most of the worst cases seem to be perpetrated by women employers. I cannot pretend to understand it. This 'lady' definitely deserves some jail time, but looks like that's going to be brushed under the carpet

[seagull]

Again, this is Asia wide, not just Thailand. Look at some of the court cases against employers in HK or Singapore with Filipina or Malay maids. Taking passports away is common practice, not legal but common. Forcing 2 or 3 maids to sleep in a room no bigger than a cupboard. Working them all hours of the day or night, beatings, burnings with hot irons...

The abuse of domestic helpers is widespread. And, I hate to say it, most of the worst cases seem to be perpetrated by women employers. I cannot pretend to understand it. This 'lady' definitely deserves some jail time, but looks like that's going to be brushed under the carpet

Agreed with slight variant. In thailand it will be swept under the carpet with some "negotiation". But in HK and Singapore, these tortures if found to be true and perpetrators are convicted, it is jail time, period.

[Toptrainer]

In the most famous Thai Visa response," If you dont like it here leave!"

That about sums it up no?

[seagull]

In the most famous Thai Visa response," If you dont like it here leave!"

That about sums it up no?

No sir, it does not summed up. It has nothing to do with "If you don't like it here leave!". It is for a matter of discussion regarding slavery of the less fortunate people who suffers these fate that's endowed onto them. Not only here in Thailand, but worldwide.

[Toptrainer]

Hmmm odd whenever I write anything less then flattering I get this in droves.

I agree it is sick behavior but it is also very typical in a society that cares so little for others.

It is also a typical response on this forum to anything having to do with the negative aspects of living in LOS.

[torngseea]

Difficult to describe how I feel reading this - I'm not violent man but some Singapore-style public caning should be added to the jail sentence.

I beg your pardon sir, If I am not wrong there is no such "public caning" in Singapore. I do believe caning is carried out in the confined of prison premises and with a doctor in attendance.

Quite right seagull. The 'public' bit was just adding a personal preference. I would imagine in a shame-based society such as the one in Thailand, the public nature of the punishment would leave a deeper impression on the culprit than the actual caning itself.

Incidentally, I'm sure the woman in question did not care about her 13 yr old maid 'losing face' while she was beating her with a metal rod.

[seagull]

Hmmm odd whenever I write anything less then flattering I get this in droves.

I agree it is sick behavior but it is also very typical in a society that cares so little for others.

It is also a typical response on this forum to anything having to do with the negative aspects of living in LOS.

Well, I am glad that you agreed that this is a sick behavior, and that is preciously what have been discussed on this topic. It has nothing to do with negative aspect of living in LOS. I love thailand, this is where I will be. (of course, with trips back home now and then)