Protection agencies and police mount human trafficking raid at popular Nana bar area - 14 year old offered for sex

[webfact]

Picture: Thai Rath

 

DOPA and NGO Operation Underground Railroad in conjunction with the Thai police raided a bar area off Soi 7 in the Nana area of upper Sukhumvit Road, downtown Bangkok last night.

 

The area of around thirty bars has sprung up over the least year or so. Mostly foreigners but some Thais listen to music and chat with bar girls at the bars off the main road. 

 

But sex is on offer and it became apparent that some of the women are under the age of 18.

 

One victim was even just 14 years old.

 

The raid came after the NGO Operation Underground Railroad complained to Damrongdhama (a government watchdog) about human trafficking offences in the area.

 

The target of the raiding party was "789 Bar".

 

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But Thai Rath reported that as the raiding party arrived many bars rushed to shut up shop in panic.

 

Arrested on human trafficking charges and taken to Lumpini police station was 42 year old Ratchada Sritaket.

 

Taken into care were three under age sex workers. One was 14. 

 

The media said that patrons at the bars could pay a bar fine then take girls away for sex. 

 

DOPA official Narong Thipsiri said it was terrible that youth were being offered for sex and that human trafficking charges are very serious.

 

He urged the public to contact damrongdhama.dopa.go.th or via the "Dopa Help" app if they are aware of young people being offered for sex. 

 

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[petermik]

Not news... it's been going on here since Adam was a lad..

Edited March 16, 2022 by petermik

[Liverpool Lou]

46 minutes ago, petermik said:

Not news... it's been going on here since Adam was a lad..

It may not be "new" but it the report is news.   

[Chelseafan]

2 hours ago, petermik said:

Not news... it's been going on here since Adam was a lad..

Yes but it don't make it right. Sadly there are too many underage girls working in bars 

[Metapod]

thats surprising as soi 7 is mostly full of older women that you wouldnt want to <deleted> lol. its the remnants of the queen vic bars from soi 22. i have a drink there every now and then but rarely seen a looker in there.

 

 

[Excel]

12 minutes ago, Metapod said:

thats surprising as soi 7 is mostly full of older women that you wouldnt want to <deleted> lol. its the remnants of the queen vic bars from soi 22. i have a drink there every now and then but rarely seen a looker in there.

 

 

Perhaps you didn't look a paedophile so were not approached by the mamasan who were keeping the children tucked away ?  Just a thought

[hioctane]

32 minutes ago, Excel said:

Perhaps you didn't look a paedophile so were not approached by the mamasan who were keeping the children tucked away ?  Just a thought

That makes more sense. The article made it sound like it was out in the open.

 

 

1 hour ago, Chelseafan said:

Yes but it don't make it right. Sadly there are too many underage girls working in bars 

“Too many” is a bit of an exaggeration.  Of course there will be a few with fake IDs and using there sister’s ID (same as anywhere in the world), but bars check IDs. Too many overage girls is my opinion here!

[Excel]

Just now, hioctane said:

That makes more sense. The article made it sound like it was out in the open.

 

 

“Too many” is a bit of an exaggeration.  Of course there will be a few with fake IDs and using there sister’s ID (same as anywhere in the world), but bars check IDs. Too many overage girls is my opinion here!

The problem with the last two years of covid it appears the fat and ugly ones remain where the prettier ones moved on, so hence to attract customers they might need to offer something extra perhaps. In the case of this bar that "something extra" was underage girls.

[MajorTom]

In my 18 years of coming to Thailand i have actually never seen or been offered anything "underage".

And i have been to many sleazy bars. I don't think its very common to come across. Unless you are looking for it.

 

[kingstonkid]

The other problem that exists I am sure is that a  lot of families need the money so they send their daughters to BKK and PKT 

 

One question though I thought all bars were closed.  Have the gov't removed the barrier or are these restaurants with a hibachi grill out front/

 

Cops when they do these raids should not be in uniform yeah the smart people will see them but the others will be easy pickings.  Wonder how many bars actually have underage and got away with it last night.

[hioctane]

32 minutes ago, Excel said:

Perhaps you didn't look a paedophile so were not approached by the mamasan who were keeping the children tucked away ?  Just a thought

That makes more sense. The article made it sound like it was out in the open.

 

 

1 hour ago, Chelseafan said:

Yes but it don't make it right. Sadly there are too many underage girls working in bars 

“Too many” is a bit of an exaggeration.  Of course there will be a few with fake IDs and using there sister’s ID (same as anywhere in the world), but bars check IDs. Too many overage girls is my opinion here!

[bkk6060]

12 minutes ago, MajorTom said:

In my 18 years of coming to Thailand i have actually never seen or been offered anything "underage".

And i have been to many sleazy bars. I don't think its very common to come across. Unless you are looking for it.

 

Well, you won't "see it " because they look 20.  And, they will mostly not openly offer under aged girls in a public bar area.  They probably have a fake ID or their sisters ID.

[scubascuba3]

20 minutes ago, MajorTom said:

In my 18 years of coming to Thailand i have actually never seen or been offered anything "underage".

And i have been to many sleazy bars. I don't think its very common to come across. Unless you are looking for it.

 

i agree, in Pattaya you don't see it, I'm not sure where the guys are going who see it a lot

[Pravda]

1 hour ago, Excel said:

Perhaps you didn't look a paedophile so were not approached by the mamasan who were keeping the children tucked away ?  Just a thought

How does one look like a pedophile? Just checking in case I need to change the way I dress or comb my hair.

[scubascuba3]

6 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Well, you won't "see it " because they look 20.  And, they will mostly not openly offer under aged girls in a public bar area.  They probably have a fake ID or their sisters ID.

If they look 20 how do you know they are under age? maybe your imagination?

[OneMoreFarang]

27 minutes ago, MajorTom said:

In my 18 years of coming to Thailand i have actually never seen or been offered anything "underage".

And i have been to many sleazy bars. I don't think its very common to come across. Unless you are looking for it.

I am sure lots of us don't see it because we don't look for it.

I.e. there was a time with lots of young (maybe 12 year old) girls were selling flowers in Nana.

Many of us, including me, saw girls selling flower, and nothing else.

Until one guy who I know told me they are available for a lot more than just flowers.

I don't know if that is true but it could be true. And "we" don't see it because hey, they are just selling flowers...

[2long]

41 minutes ago, hioctane said:

That makes more sense. The article made it sound like it was out in the open.

 

 

“Too many” is a bit of an exaggeration.  Of course there will be a few with fake IDs and using there sister’s ID (same as anywhere in the world), but bars check IDs. Too many overage girls is my opinion here!

I would say that 'even one child sold for sex' is 'too many.'

[OneMoreFarang]

12 minutes ago, Pravda said:

How does one look like a pedophile? Just checking in case I need to change the way I dress or comb my hair.

If you ignore all the pretty girls and only look at the children which maybe some girls have with them then you are in trouble.

[OneMoreFarang]

Let's start by saying nobody should be forced to have sex. And no older sister should bring her younger sister to a bar to offer her to customers.

 

Personally I think one problem is this exact age definition. And let's not forget that officially prostitution is illegal in Thailand. As far as I understand it a 20 year old prostitute is accepted in Thailand. A 18 or 19 year old is not allowed to get paid for sex. And a 16 or 17 year old it definitely underage.

But then, as far as I know, the age of consent in Thailand is 15 (Ages of consent in Asia - Wikipedia).

And in reality lots of teenagers have sex. That is apparent just by the number of all those young mothers who work in the business.

It seems to me that many Thais, and many foreigners who live a long time in Thailand, don't take laws too serious - i.e. no smoking, traffic laws, prostitution.

So if a girl who works in a bar brings her younger sister to the city, does she really care if the sister is 18 or 17? Maybe she cares about it in the sense that she knows many bars wouldn't employ the 17 year old. But otherwise, who really cares?

 

I saw in many bar that girls who work in the bars are visited by family members and friends. If a girl brings her own 2 year old child then I guess most of us don't think anything suspicious is going on. If she brings her 12 year old sister I guess most of us will still don't think anything bad about it. But how about if she brings her 16 year old sister? Maybe she is drinking Cola outside the bar and eating somtam with the girls. Is she just a visiting family member? What if a regular customer asks the older sister if he can buy the younger sister another drink.

I think sometimes the lines are very blurred.

[ivor bigun]

5 hours ago, petermik said:

Not news... it's been going on here since Adam was a lad..

I remember about 26 yrs ago ,walking near there and being offered a pre teen girl ,it was quite common in those days ,not nice.

[HauptmannUK]

The NGOs love these stories. Keeps the funding flowing.

This sort of thing is much more likely to be found out in the villages than in central Bangkok.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, petermik said:

Not news... it's been going on here since Adam was a lad..

I don't Adam & Eve it...

[natway09]

You do not see this so often now (thankfully) but 32 years ago it was just the norm,

usually for 500 Baht extra 

[Odin Norway]

1 hour ago, MajorTom said:

In my 18 years of coming to Thailand i have actually never seen or been offered anything "underage".

And i have been to many sleazy bars. I don't think its very common to come across. Unless you are looking for it.

 

Happend to me once.Bangla road in Phuket many years ago..Not because she looked under age.She actually had the biggest titts I had seen on a girl here in that time.Her giggly and childish behavior gave her away so I asked to see her ID card.She was 15.I totally panicked and sent her away quickly.You never know if you are set up.There are many kareaoke bars around where I live that have girls down to 15 for sure.The only one that should be accused of traficking is their family.The pressure they put on their girls is just to much.

[Bangkok Barry]

4 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

Yes but it don't make it right. Sadly there are too many underage girls working in bars 

Do you actually know that, or just saying it with nothing to back it up? Such cases in what is essentially a bar area aimed largely at foreigners are extremely rare these days and have been for many years.

[Burma Bill]

Thailand -  the hub for disgusting ex-pat and tourist pedophiles???? Withdraw their visas and deport them!!

[moe666]

2 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

The other problem that exists I am sure is that a  lot of families need the money so they send their daughters to BKK and PKT 

 

One question though I thought all bars were closed.  Have the gov't removed the barrier or are these restaurants with a hibachi grill out front/

 

Cops when they do these raids should not be in uniform yeah the smart people will see them but the others will be easy pickings.  Wonder how many bars actually have underage and got away with it last night.

Bars are open and have been for a while. soi Cowboy jumping over the weekend, country roads packing them in but drinks reasonable 120 bhat for Black label. Some of the other bars not so busy, drinks more than likely to expensive. Long Gun and Raw hide both closed Raw Hide for sale.

[toofarnorth]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

I don't Adam & Eve it...

I wonder what price Adam was charging all those years ago.

[Skeptic7]

7 hours ago, petermik said:

Not news... it's been going on here since Adam was a lad..

More fitting...since fictional Eve was a lass! ????

[ChaiyaTH]

2 hours ago, MajorTom said:

In my 18 years of coming to Thailand i have actually never seen or been offered anything "underage".

And i have been to many sleazy bars. I don't think its very common to come across. Unless you are looking for it.

 

Never came across it too while having been 3-4 days a week, for quite some years, almost anywhere and everywhere. Did have seen quite a few times where a woman was with a underage walking around the areas, but never in an actual place or bar.

 

Unless being 18-19 would count as well, but not to me. I was just around 21 those days too.

Edited March 16, 2022 by ChaiyaTH