Prostitution Clampdown Heads For The North

[george]

Prostitution clampdown heads for the North

Police are focussing on the northern part of the country and Bangkok in their crackdown on prostitution.

"We've spent a lot of time talking about commercial sex operations in the capital and the northern provinces," Immigration Bureau Commissioner Lt-General Charnwut Watcharapuk said yesterday.

He was speaking after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Purachai Piumsombun, who was following up on the progress made in the plan to eradicate the sex trade.

Purachai, who initiated a social order campaign while heading the Interior Ministry, has urged the authorities to use anti-money laundering laws against the operators of brothels and massage parlours offering sex services.

Charnwut yesterday said the Anti Money-Laundering Office (AMLO) had already confiscated more than Bt20 million from suspects accused of running commercial sex services in Chiang Rai.

"Further action is being taken to allow us to seize at least seven plots of land," he added.

Charnwut said immigration police would at the same time crack down on foreigners sneaking into the country to enter the flesh trade. However, he added that the clampdown would focus more on the operators of sex businesses than prostitutes.

"Many Chinese women are involved in prostitution here," he said.

He said he had recently ordered raids on four or five venues in Chiang Rai on suspicion they employed prostitutes.

"If they are found hiring alien females as prostitutes, their venues will be shut down within three days," Charnwut said.

He said his agency would keep close watch on various types of entertainment venues, like karaoke lounges, restaurants and massage parlours.

He said the crackdown on prostitution was a well-coordinated effort involving all relevant agencies, including the AMLO, the Metropolitan Police Bureau, the Immigration Police Bureau, and the Public Health Ministry.

--The Nation 2003-01-08