Complaints Filed Against Topless Women Dancing During Songkran.

[sydneyjed]

Have seen at least half a dozen photos from Songkran with both water pistols and full buckets thrown on motor cyclists...one with three people riding!!!

Just remind me how many people were killed over Songkran, how many buckets of water were thrown into the faces of motorcyclists causing a some to fall off, I know of one young girl that was killed in such an incident and people are causing such a fuss over these two young women having fun - pathetic.

Interesting comment about water in bikers faces... 1,000km around towns and villages and I didn't once see any bikes in danger nor was I "assaulted" whilst in motion. Oh and befoer you say "farang" I wear a full face with tinted visor and gloves which means you cant tell... I know from my chats with the BIB.

Guess it depends where you are.

That apart, dancing naked in the street is wrong.

Posting it on the net doesn't help.

The fact that the country has a tarnished reputation is all the more reason to clamp down don't you think...

Well I was assaulted 3 times in 10km later in the afternoon that day.

And watched many people get similar treatment.

The mart ones slow or stop and get treated nicely.

Most who go fast are afraid of the ice water dousings,

not the water of normal temperature.

[harrry]

I don't know wether I agree or disagree with this. Its a hard one morally for me. On one hand I think, its a party and a hundred years ago women walked bare breasted anyway. On the other hand Thai culture is slipping away and I can understand why people want to keep their cultural identity, especially with much of the west to hold up as a "shining" example of were you end up if you allow the cultural decline to go unchecked.

As far as the YouTubers go, if they staged it it could be argued I supposed that it was a direct attempt to slur or debase; however, if it was just some guys that caught it on camera and then posted it - and it was done in public - then they should not be charged at all IMO.

Once again Thailand has become the laughing stock, the article in the NY times today says it all.

If Thailand wants the world to take them seriously about this issue then there is only one solution; close down ALL go go bars and similar ilk. Arrest and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone involved in prostitution.

Unbelievable; the world is really laughing and pointing the finger at Thailand now; silly, silly, silly.

I suppose that is because the Americans don't understand about face and respect; there is an appropriate time and place, and in this case, that should have been after 8 pm behind a heavy velvet curtain.

When you say "anyone involved in prostitution" I take it you are primarily focussing on foreign tourists, the hoteliers that accommodate them, the people that rent rooms to prostitutes, the people that sell them som tam, the bar owners that employ them as dancers, the other bar owners whose premises they patronise, and single mothers struggling to support their offspring - and presumably, also the fathers of said offspring, who contribute in their own inimitable way. And presumably, the rest of us, lest we feel left out - we have probably contributed or benefited in some way in any case

SC

What it comes down to is the world's (outside of Thailand) perspective of Thailand. They don't care about face, Thai culture etc. Just read the Ny times article. With "common knowledge" of Thailand and what goes on here and the fact that it is really out in the open (once a girl in Pattaya yelled at me from across the street; "hey man, you f*&k my *&S and come in my mout, 500 baht") and they arrest people for exposing their chest on songkran.

That is what is in the news and that is what the world thinks about Thailand.

"Thailand has rules against vice, and the government regularly blocks Web sites deemed to violate Thai values. But weak enforcement and a general laissez-faire ethos undermine such controls. The country has a long history of men frequenting prostitutes; Bangkok is home to hundreds of so-called saunas, where male clients do more than just soak in hot tubs.

Minutes away from the spot where the three dancers were filmed is the Patpong Road district, where women and men perform in infamous sex shows and sex workers ply countless bars."

NY times article

As I said, silly, silly, silly

BTW, If Thailand wants to get rid of prostitution (never happen) they should target the johns, pimps bar owners etc. not the girls, duh .

NY times article

Chalidaporn Songsamphan, an associate professor at Thammasat University in Bangkok, said Thais were uncomfortable when sexuality was displayed in public. And, she said, the anger directed at the topless dancers was a way for people to channel their frustrations about wider social problems, like alcoholism, low test scores among students and teenage delinquency.

“Thais need someone to blame,” Professor Chalidaporn said. “It’s easier than fixing problems in the country.”

[Kilgore Trout]

Nipit is a twit.

The online society recently slammed the Ministry of Culture’s website as it had posted paintings of the seven Nang Songkran goddesses during the festival. The goddesses were dressed in traditional costumes revealing their bare breasts and were compared with the incident at Silom.

Reacting to the criticism, Mr Nipit responded that he has already ordered removal of the image. He however asked all Thais to view the paintings as pieces of art, not pornography; otherwise, all Thai sculptures ranging from the mermaid to angels and kinnarees must be banned from displays.

I guess he can't look at those underdressed ladies on Silom as beautiful pieces of art and not pornography.

Porn is showing sex not simple nudity of persons of legal age.

While I agree, Nipit is a twit, your definition of pornography is not entirely correct. Pornography is often defined as:

"The portrayal of explicit sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual excitement and erotic satisfaction."

In this case, those dancing girls probably fall into this genre. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a great adisplay of boobs as much as the next guy, we should be accurate in our language.

Ok, try this then. Get a canvass and some paint (or better yet get a Thai bloke to) and have a Thai girl stand topless as he paints her.

See if end result is the same.

[sydneyjed]

Got it in one but fact is Thailand is no different than many other holiday destinations that thrive on alcohol fuelled entertainment,hence that's the sort of outcomes you will undoubtedly get wether it's Patong,Walking St or the Coogee Bay Hotel...they're all just as dangerous in the context of things,especially during mad footy trip season from October!

More of the wrong Aussies are travelling here more like...In the majority of the cases alcohol (or should I say too much of it) has been a contributory factor in many of the incidents that led to unfortunate outcomes...That and a total lack of respect for local culture and slob behaviour make them prime targets for conflict!!

Let me guess, you are one of the "right Aussies" correct?

Fact is, as a developing Buddhist country Thailand is just a very dangerous tourism destination.

[ginjag]

According to @policespokesman, three topless girls at Silom during Songkran are aged 13, 15 and 16 years old.

/via@veen_NT

..! I saw the clip..and would not have thought for a minute they were so young.

I don't think they are. But if you are the culture ministry and want to get these videos removed from the dozens of various internet sites where they have been posted, and limit people sending them to others, there is no more effective way to do it than to say the girls are under age.

I don't believe for an instant that these are their real ages. But since it is largely irrelevant, I congratulate the police on bringing such dangerous criminals to justice.

cheers.......................................... it is the outstanding work of this year ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

very good ............. haha.........

I think we should make a clean 'breast" of things here, look someone made a "boob" I think they had a divine "right" and "left",- 500 baht short in the purse if my "mammary" serves me right !!! :lol:

[petedk]

I haven't read all the posts thoroughly but having skimmed through I haven't seen anyone mention the Culture Ministry's website.

I saw in the newspaper this morning a picture of topless women on the Culture Ministry's website had been removed "after speculation that it may have influenced the girls".

Do these people really believe that these young girls looked at that website and then decided to dance topless?

If the website is anything to go by then going topless is a part of Thai culture.

[jfchandler]

I agree with all the critics out there... What the country really needs is a return to its traditional Thai values.... not all this modern day rubbish...

Back to the good ole' days when Thai women freely roamed about town and country topless. Now that would do wonders for the moribund tourism industry...

Much thanks to the Culture Ministry for showing us all the light...

[Arkady]

Police charged the ladyboys with obscene behavior in public and fined them 500 baht each before releasing them with a warning.

"Thai transvestites"..... one would assume these are not transexuals..ie not had bits chopped off or added, but blokes dressing up as women..

Ergo...any male who walks around shirtless in Thailand should be charged THB 500 as well and made to wear tradtional Thai dress's.....

Ergo...Males dressing up in womens traditional thai dress' is preserving good Thai culture.....

Got to love the logic in this article...

Please note that when I arrived in thailand the first time back in 1992, it was in all the guides that it was a big no no for foreigners to walk around shirtless in bangkok, you would get fined.

now ok to fine the girls , thats the law , but stirring up the thing like this is way too much and will have the reverse effect , as it makes publicity about the incident. Funny how the bigots, not only thais, usually cause more damage to the image of their countries than the incident they denounce.

The two ladyboys were arrested and fined in Pichit for exposing their breasts. So one assumes they something to expose.

Edited April 19, 2011 by Arkady

[Arkady]

I have now seen the clip. (Please don't ask me where or your post will be deleted). It looks like it was a bit of high spirited fun, as you would see a thousand times over in Rio and as I have seen at beach parties in Europe. Definitely nothing to get exercised about in the way the pompous hypocrits have done. You can be sure all the males who have a fuss are regulars at massage parlours and "cafes".

[jfchandler]

I was particularly heartened to learn that the art of traditional Thai dance is still very much alive among today's Thai teenagers... Glad to see societal traditions are alive and well among the younger generation.

[webfact]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

[HerbalEd]

What is the big fuss about topless girls/women the breasts are not sexual organs no more than a mans nipples

Organs no, but sexual? Absolutely.

[tartempion]

#282, the Nation has no decency, how do they dare printing a picture of hooded women?

[Soutpeel]

#282, the Nation has no decency, how do they dare printing a picture of hooded women?

May be Shira law coming to a town near you....

[Soutpeel]

What is the big fuss about topless girls/women the breasts are not sexual organs no more than a mans nipples

Organs no, but sexual? Absolutely.

They are actually organ's in the case of the female of the species...they produce milk, sexual organs....no....mearly lunch buckets......

[Arkady]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

This picture is puke making. The police should be made to parade in front of the media to apologise for wasting time and tax payers money by victimising these kids.

[hyperdimension]

The girls could be making a social statement by dressing up all covered up like that - the more covered up a girl is, the more acceptable it is to society?

If I wanted to see girls covered up I'd go live in an Islamic state.

[Thai at Heart]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

Videoing them on a public street violated their rights??????? You can't think this stuff up. If I was the person who took the video, I would simply claim I was videoing the buildings in the background and the girls happened to enter the shot. Does this mean that photographing someone breaking the law infringes their rights? I presume that carries a 10mn baht fine and 5 years in jail, but actually dancing semi naked gets 500 baht. The longer this goes on, the more and more ridiculous the country makes itself look. I really do wonder who makes up the proportion of these laws. It is as though they basically have every activity possible on the record as being illegal and they just dust the laws off when they see fit. I am sure somewhere merely taking a breath and opening your eyes is a criminal offence somewhere on the books in Thailand.

Yes the girls did wrong,but hardly worth the amount of hand wringing that it appears the protectors of Thai culture are performing. 500 baht is too low, but videoing in public also ends up being a crime?? What next, they will say it was a crime to have inadvertently looked at the girls, and who knows, maybe smiling at people next will be a crime. I would dearly love to be a person sitting on a review of the criminal justice system in this country.

As for the hooded heads, is this the new Thai version of conservative dress? Burkas may be the next new thing it appears.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Thai at Heart

[Buckaroo]

This is sooo funny

[jfchandler]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

Videoing them on a public street violated their rights??????? You can't think this stuff up.

So let me get this straight. The police consider the topless girls dancing at Song Kran to have been committing a crime under Thai law. I don't agree about that myself, but at least I can understand the legal position - public quasi-nudity against the law.

And now, the police want to also make the argument that someone videotaping a crime being committed on the public street is a violation of the "criminals'" rights???

Please, please... tell me this is all just a bad dream and not the country where I live.

And don't anyone make the argument about the dancing girls being juveniles... Because, at the time their frolic was occurring, no one knew who they were or what their ages were -- that only came after the fact. So whomever shot and/or posted the video on the Internet would have had no knowledge of that.

[Time Traveller]

I have now seen the clip. (Please don't ask me where or your post will be deleted). It looks like it was a bit of high spirited fun, as you would see a thousand times over in Rio and as I have seen at beach parties in Europe. Definitely nothing to get exercised about in the way the pompous hypocrits have done. You can be sure all the males who have a fuss are regulars at massage parlours and "cafes".

Oh, really?.....personally, anyone who thinks that there's nothing wrong with a hundred or so men leering at 3 girls (yes 13, 15 & 16 are girls) dancing topless is more akin to being a paedophile than this being completely normal. Name one country where such behaviour would be acceptable?.....Come on Arkady, you're better than that.

[Time Traveller]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

Videoing them on a public street violated their rights??????? You can't think this stuff up. If I was the person who took the video, I would simply claim I was videoing the buildings in the background and the girls happened to enter the shot. Does this mean that photographing someone breaking the law infringes their rights? I presume that carries a 10mn baht fine and 5 years in jail, but actually dancing semi naked gets 500 baht. The longer this goes on, the more and more ridiculous the country makes itself look. I really do wonder who makes up the proportion of these laws.

It's possible that this can be looked upon within the scope of the law as being production and distribution of child pornography, hence a legitimate reason for a tougher sentence. While such charges are not specifically stated in this article, you can be assured that a public prosecutor would have much better knowledge of what will stick in court of law than a police commander.

And by the way, yes videoing people on the street without their consent is a violation of their rights in many countries.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Time Traveller

[Sunderland]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

Not wishing to give away their identities, but I could swear that crew are working on the construction of a condominium just along the road from here.

[Thai at Heart]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

Videoing them on a public street violated their rights??????? You can't think this stuff up. If I was the person who took the video, I would simply claim I was videoing the buildings in the background and the girls happened to enter the shot. Does this mean that photographing someone breaking the law infringes their rights? I presume that carries a 10mn baht fine and 5 years in jail, but actually dancing semi naked gets 500 baht. The longer this goes on, the more and more ridiculous the country makes itself look. I really do wonder who makes up the proportion of these laws.

It's possible that this can be looked upon within the scope of the law as being production and distribution of child pornography, hence a legitimate reason for a tougher sentence. While such charges are not specifically stated in this article, you can be assured that a public prosecutor would have much better knowledge of what will stick in court of law than a police commander.

And by the way, yes videoing people on the street without their consent is a violation of their rights in many countries.

Can be looked at in many ways. Could be looked at as a pole dancing training video.

I somehow think that in more legally logical parts of the world, the right to privacy is waived when you take your clothes off, climb a podium and wiggle your ass on a public street. The fact that the police appear to have brought the charge rather than the girls themselves show another major anomaly of Thai law. Did this person who made the video criminally invade the privacy of these girls considering they were performing on a major street filled with maybe 100,000 people? Under the Thai system, I wonder if the girls could sue any newspaper for putting the story on the front page, thus encouraging hundreds of thousands of people to search for the videos? Aiding and abetting the invasion of privacy?

As for them being underage, I have been to hundreds of up country parties where the singers are surrounded by teenage girls dressed in miniskirts with bare midriffs, made up to look like 25 year olds, wiggling around next to the local village singer. Of course for some weird reason that is ok in Thai culture. The case is as far as I know about invading their privacy, not child porn. Does publishing a CCTV video of someone breaking the law, infringe their personal rights? In this country, depending on of whom the video showed, I would imagine it probably would. Someone breaks into my house, i snap his picture or video him with a bag of swag over his shoulder as he is leaving the house. I give the picture to the police, who promptly give it a newspaper. Does this mean the police will then accuse me of infringing on the rights of the thief?

This is using a law to achieve a political/moral aim, which is to dissuade people from distributing things the authorities don't like on the internet. One can hardly expect to have one's modesty protected if one performs like this in public.

It is a classic case of shooting the messenger, much in same way that the defamation laws in the country punish the messenger even if the story is true. The punishment for which appears to be more serious than the original offence????????

Pernicious, absurd and dangerous manipulation of the law is what this is.

[StreetCowboy]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

Not wishing to give away their identities, but I could swear that crew are working on the construction of a condominium just along the road from here.

Its the Tynecastle Ripper!

SC

[Hawkup2000]

Maybe the guy who made the video just wanted to be a good citizen by helping the police by recording a ongoing crime? And now they want to throw the book at him...:-)

Did anyone see the newsclip about the guy who mastrubated on the bts the otherday? There is no talk of prosecution of the woman who made that clip...

[FOODLOVER]

Your kidding right. they violated my right to a wholesome family outing in bangkok! Every one is talking about their ages and i dont remember seeing their ID tatooed to their tits so who new. It was also in a very public place. How do you violate some ones privacy when their in public. No one snuck up to their window and took the video. Find something better to do. Ever here of corruption on so many levels? Work on that! Not criminalization of Thai tits!

[SteeleJoe]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

Not wishing to give away their identities, but I could swear that crew are working on the construction of a condominium just along the road from here.

[bartender100]

Bit scary really, i have seen the full video, and no way the girls look that young, they just seemed like normal gogo age girls, which i thought they were.

[Payboy]

Topless pair sorry for Songkran frolic

By The Nation

Two of the three women who danced topless in Bangkok's Silom Road during Friday night's Songkran celebration were on Monday presented along with their legal guardians at a police conference to apologise for their "reckless and obscene" action.

The three women were charged with exposing themselves in public and obscene behaviour, punishable by a Bt500 fine.

Commander of the Region 6 Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj-General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, said police would find the person who recorded a clip of them dancing, as well as those who posted it on the Net. They would face legal action because the recording was a violation of the women's rights.

-- The Nation 2011-04-20

Not wishing to give away their identities, but I could swear that crew are working on the construction of a condominium just along the road from here.

Really dont see the logic behind covering their faces now, when the topless video is all over the internet.