Couple Held For Uk Human Trafficking

[george]

Couple held for UK human trafficking

BANGKOK: -- Police yesterday arrested a man and a woman suspected of being part of a gang involved in the trafficking of Thai women to brothels in England.

Pol Maj-Gen Wimol Pao-in, head of the Children, Juveniles and Women Division, said police, with assistance from the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, arrested Worapoj Pitayanukul, 60, and Pilaiporn Sathienthanakorn, 54, on charges of luring Thai women into prostitution in England.

Mr Worapoj was arrested at his house in Nonthaburi’s Bang Kruai district and Mrs Pilaiporn was taken into custody at her house in Bangkok’s Din Daeng district yesterday.

The arrests came after Pongpoj Pitayanukul, 31, and nine other people were caught in [... more]

-- Bangkok Post 2008-05-03

[Boater]

Does anyone know if these women where ' Educated ' Thais, or Bargirls???????

[joefromdc]

Does anyone know if these women where ' Educated ' Thais, or Bargirls???????

Is that important?

[happyaussie]

I hope they lock em up and throw away the keys. People who lure unsuspecting girls in under the pretence of making a better life for themselves and their family, when their true motive is prostutution are scum. And anyone who thinks this is okay are also scum.

I've heard that once the girls arrive their passports are taken from them, then they are put to work in brothels. When they want to come home they are forced to repay some exorbident amount of money before their passport is returned.

Just imagine how terrified these poor girls must be. Most have never been on a plane before, not to mention a foreign country.

[WeeGB]

I'm with you on this one happyaussie. These poor lasses dream of a better life and end up in slavery.How people can do this to other people is frankly beyond my comprehension. Hangings too good for the perpetrators. The people that use these poor girls are for sexual services are equally guilty. From what I understand, victims are often chained up, drugged up to the eyeballs, and physically and mentally abused. I don't know what the maximum penalty is for this crime in Thailand, but I hope both these bast.ards get it.

[sibeymai]

I am not convinced that in all cases the women don't know what they're getting themselves in for.

[astral]

So this is why my wife and son had such difficulty getting through immigration in Thailand,

when they came to visit me.

[Scott]

As I understand it, they were taken around to different countries so their passports had entrance and exit visas.

I tend to think they aren't quite as innocent as many would like to believe. That said, it is against the law and if they are running away, then they obviously aren't satisfied with their conditions of employment and those violating the law should be punished.

[ratcatcher]

It would be interesting to find out how easy or difficult it was for these people to obtain tourist visas or study visas for these girls.

Given the fact that most times we hear how hard it is for a British subject to take his girlfriend, fiance or wife to the United Kingdom one wonder how much money changed hands under the table?

[DP25]

I hope they lock em up and throw away the keys. People who lure unsuspecting girls in under the pretence of making a better life for themselves and their family, when their true motive is prostutution are scum. And anyone who thinks this is okay are also scum.

I've heard that once the girls arrive their passports are taken from them, then they are put to work in brothels. When they want to come home they are forced to repay some exorbident amount of money before their passport is returned.

Just imagine how terrified these poor girls must be. Most have never been on a plane before, not to mention a foreign country.

lol. These are not innocent, unsuspecting farm girls. They recruit these girls straight from Nana Plaza and Pattaya. They are hardened hookers who know exactly what they are getting in to. What would be the point in 'deceiving' women when all you have to do is go to any bar in Pattaya and let it be known they can get 8000 (or whatever the price is, unsure) baht short time in the UK? This whole story about women being 'tricked' in to prostitution abroad is media and political hysteria, as there is an endless supply of prostitutes willing and eager to go work abroad. A hooker spending a year working in the UK is set for life, although I bet most of them don't stop working even after they get back.

[jeztennis]

agree wholeheartedly with previous poster, have an ex-friend who used to do the same, bar girls are advised that they have to pay back about 26,000 pounds, they are bought fake passports and some english guy will take them to uk via another european airport, the 'brothel' manager will pay about 8000 pounds for the girl and she will have to work for about 5 months to pay back the 26,000 owed, they are apparently housed and fed and money is sent each month to their family, after they finish their contract they can rent rooms and carry on working often earning over 1500 pounds per week and if they are careful with their money they can retire bak in thailand in about 1.5 years time with a very nice nestegg.

this is all scaremongering, european prostitutes however are a completely different matter, mant are drugged and abused by eastern european gangs.

there may be perhaps 1% who arent fully aware and i feel sorry for these unfortunates but be very sure, the vast majority go into it with their full knowledge, understanding and co-operation.

[clausewitz]

As I understand it, they were taken around to different countries so their passports had entrance and exit visas.

I tend to think they aren't quite as innocent as many would like to believe. That said, it is against the law and if they are running away, then they obviously aren't satisfied with their conditions of employment and those violating the law should be punished.

Yes the police said the girls had to take trips to malaysia and other easy to enter countries so as to appear to be genuine travellers. They all knew what they were doing.

[PadThaiGuy]

Why is it..... hookers go to work overseas,...... get caught,... they always claim they were slaves...?

[astral]

I suspect they are locked up like slaves until they pay off the original sum.

[PadThaiGuy]

I suspect they are locked up like slaves until they pay off the original sum.

Volunteers, lining up for this high paying position overseas need to be locked up?

Don't think so.

[jaede]

All lot of these women go to the Uk knowing that they will be working off a pre-agreed debt, and a pre-agreed percentage of the future takings(which the do actually get!!!!) I know of many girls who have worked off debts in HK/Japan/UK and trust me they are now 'retired' and rolling in cash. as it is very very hard for Thai's to get a tourist visa into the UK they are usually smuggled in on a re-cycled(stolen passport) and/or on a 72 hr tranist visa to the UK

These women do not deserve pity as their greed and desire to make heaps of cash to 'retire' their body from the sex industry, without the need to be pumped by a half dozen fat old sweaty farangs everyday on soi 6 fuels the industry. These women are not tricked in any way. It's just a ploy to get pity, These girls are usually hardcore seasoned Bar girls

Edited May 17, 2008 by jaede

[Insight]

All lot of these women go to the Uk knowing that they will be working off a pre-agreed debt, and a pre-agreed percentage of the future takings(which the do actually get!!!!) I know of many girls who have worked off debts in HK/Japan/UK and trust me they are now 'retired' and rolling in cash. as it is very very hard for Thai's to get a tourist visa into the UK they are usually smuggled in on a re-cycled(stolen passport) and/or on a 72 hr tranist visa to the UK

These women do not deserve pity as their greed and desire to make heaps of cash to 'retire' their body from the sex industry, without the need to be pumped by a half dozen fat old sweaty farangs everyday on soi 6 fuels the industry. These women are not tricked in any way. It's just a ploy to get pity, These girls are usually hardcore seasoned Bar girls

Just a bit heartless...

A lot of girls are sold into these syndicates by their parents. They might not look like they've been dragged into it kicking and screaming, but you also can't deny there's a fair amount of "conditioning" going on over the years. The sale generally happens at a young age and the girl in question doesn't have a say and there is no easy way out other than cash up front. By the time you see them on the streets of Soho they're well and truly "groomed".

No doubt the cash rolls in for them when they're on the game, wherever it may be, but the choice to do something else was simply never there.

[thaigene2]

All lot of these women go to the Uk knowing that they will be working off a pre-agreed debt, and a pre-agreed percentage of the future takings(which the do actually get!!!!) I know of many girls who have worked off debts in HK/Japan/UK and trust me they are now 'retired' and rolling in cash. as it is very very hard for Thai's to get a tourist visa into the UK they are usually smuggled in on a re-cycled(stolen passport) and/or on a 72 hr tranist visa to the UK

These women do not deserve pity as their greed and desire to make heaps of cash to 'retire' their body from the sex industry, without the need to be pumped by a half dozen fat old sweaty farangs everyday on soi 6 fuels the industry. These women are not tricked in any way. It's just a ploy to get pity, These girls are usually hardcore seasoned Bar girls

I agree that many are going there with the intent to work as prostitutes. But that doesn't excuse any trickery or gross abuse, imprisonment, etc, that may occur once they get there. It irks me a bit to see a moralistic tone develop that suggests anyone who chooses sex work deserves to be raped, robbed, beaten and/or imprisoned - like 'they had it coming to them'.

Maybe they were led to believe they could just have one guy a night like many Thai bar girls do here - but when they get over there they are told they have to service ten guys a night, and other conditions have been imposed, like forced to work for nothing for six months. They say 'no way' and want to leave but are then imprisoned and beaten. They are no doubt naive, but they are still victims nonetheless, surely posters would agree with that, no?

[TAWP]

If it was legalized the woman could be offered proper protection. The old Victorian thinking prohibits this and the women end up suffering for it.