'Secrets Bar & Hotel' Raid Leads To American Manager's Arrest: Pattaya

[seadoo]

Firstly, I have to admit I like Larry, nice guy.

But I find it amazing that their own forum makes no mention about this, I wonder why???

Yet if you owned any other business they would normally allow people to post about these sort of things about these other businesses and these businesses usally cop a lot of unwarranted posts.

It's not really surprising as their Forum is essentially (and understandably) an advertising vehicle for the bar

.

Just a bit of sarcasm

Edited June 18, 2012 by seadoo

[paulswebb]

3000 baht, getting very expensive, do you get a bottle of Leo included

[Arkady]

Police Lieutenant Colonel Kwanphichai Manojaroensub deserves to be arrested for crimes of fashion. Just look at that dreadful outfit!

Edited June 18, 2012 by Arkady

[angsta]

What a joke. The police should be embarrassed by this type of thing.

[angsta]

They have a Bangkok branch?? Really?

[RichardinBKK]

What a joke. The police should be embarrassed by this type of thing.

Yes, they should be embarrassed that they can only afford the basic Mercedes, and not the top of the line. Really! Step it up BIB!

[selavy59]

The next owners of Secrets may provide us with a clue as to who is behind this.

[animatic]

Either Secrets was taking business from a local establishment, run by someone influential,

or they didn't make their payments to the other local enforcement types.

Of course it could be just the example made from time to time to keep order, and revenues flowing.

In any case this is show and tell for the press and nothing much else.

[Isee]

He could use the gym more often at the joint, but i think he is loaded to buy himself out maybe?

You obviously don't know much about the guy. He won't be buying his way out of it without help from others.

For all those suspecting another bar has had something to do with raid, why rule out people who have an association with the bar itself.

[Hostile17]

some people should go to thai brothels and massage parlours and film themselves requesting services and getting into the room for them after handing money

Then make a website with a thousand domain names and different ips and blast this on thai social networks

Then the governement would have no choice but to arrest all the policitian who own those parlours

if i was a retiree i would give myself a mission like that, help those <deleted> become better

[sailblue]

Regarding only falang bars only, they did do Silverstar not long back, a Thai bar. Young girls are a danger for a bar, but most run the risk. Especially if they have multiple back doors etc, and the girls are say 17 and do not look 12. There are girls here that are 19 and look 15.

[londoedan]

3000 baht, getting very expensive, do you get a bottle of Leo included

I know - short-time fun for 3000 - outrageous.

Similar fun available, a stones throw away, for 500.

[TackyToo]

Well it was no secret (please excuses the pun) that this was a place ladies sold personal sevices...

Nor is it a secret that virtually every Bar and GoGo in Pattaya does likewise.

Ben said, “We have done everything legally and by the book.”

How is this possible if prostitution is illegal in Thailand?

The action of Mr. Grayhart is considered a criminal offense by “procuring and luring a woman to commit an obscene act for others to reach completion”.

Suspect Number 2, Ms. Chuchai, is considered guilty of “wandering and mingling in a prostitution center.”

It surly won't happen at Tilac Bar where a German teamed up with a Thai woman with a police family background...

Edited June 18, 2012 by TackyToo

[Deaw]

......and just when I was considering opening a bar in Pattaya like all the other retired brain surgeons do....

[how241]

Prostitution in a Bar in Pattaya? I wouldn't expect that

Never hear about that before. ha ha ha

[andyww]

I have always been surprised at how Secrets for so long managed to break all the unwritten rules about how to run this type of establishment ie:

Keep your head down.

Do not become a well-known bar owner (unless Thai)

Do not frequent your own bar

Do not have rooms available for rent which are directly linked to the bar.

Do not openly advertise the type of services available there (even if is obvious what goes on)

I cant think of any other establishment ever, which has been so open about what happens there. I would imagine other owners wondering how he managed to get away with it for so long. Paying tea money can only work up to a point, eventually something has to give.

[grahamhc]

Im still prowd of wearing my Pattaya Secrets T-Shirts ivé got from Larry!

Me too. I have the Pattaya Secrets Anniversay T-Shirts from the past 3 years.

A 14 year old maid? The maid cleaning the toilets that I see is well over 41 (I think they reversed the numbers) and she has never once tried to see my John Thomas.

You all forget that YINGLUCK is coming to town. On the Car Radio today, the news was about the Police running round to round up drug dealers and show they were doing their job. Maybe the Bangkok Police were down to a day at the seaside and had to make it look like work.

Same thing happens in the Philippines when Hilary Clinton and her Chequebook are in town. The Crackdowns, usually with a "set-up" sting, using willing participents.

[indieke]

Well, the same happened in "Hells Club". it then became "devils denn", with the same owners and much more advertising.

As for underage girls. I know this club, been there a few times. Girls are not exceptional pretty, and not always young. Cannot remember one girl, I thought she could be underage. The club is at least a bit classy, no nude dancing, and the atmosphere, not so greezy as other places.

[happysanook]

Interesting that it was Bangkok police who raided the bar.

The bar must be paying tea-money to the local police, otherwise they wouldn't have been in business this long.

If they had stopped paying the money, it would have been the Pattaya police who would have raided.

But this was Bangkok police.

This sort of thing always pisses off the local Pattaya police, as it is always seen as stepping on their turf, and rather messes up the protection racket if they cannot guarantee protection.

There is no way that the Bangkok police happened to stumble upon this place and found to their horror that there might be prostitution taking place. It is no different to any other of the many gogo bars in Pattaya.

They went to Pattaya with the specific aim of taking this manager down.

This generally means one thing: someone paid the Bangkok police to raid Secrets.

The manager must have made an enemy somewhere along the line.

One grumbles about the Thai police, but often it turns out that it was another Westerner who engineered this situation.

ranma

This comes down to a farang taking business from Thai establishments. Unwelcome in Thailand unless you're giving money. Taking it or making it is unacceptable.

[pepi2005]

It is no different to any other of the many gogo bars in Pattaya.

not true.

It is a HUGE difference in Thai Law whether there are dancing girls [and you are supposed to take the girl out to your room] or if there is sex offered directly at the premises. Secrets tried to "workaround" this law by having a separate "hotel" in the same complex, but of course this can be interpreted as still being illegal (and probably will be).

This is exactly the same reason why other bars (like Oasis, Champagne etc., also certain bars in Bangkok) had been raided in the past. It was not because they are Gogo bars, but because they offered rooms upstairs.

Apart from that, there was another reason quoted for the raid, and it was that an underage girl was engaged in sexual services by a guest. Even the article stated doubts about the factual correctness of this claim. Often the claim of underage girls is made if blackmail is involved or if a competitor, a jealous wife, a greedy aunt or just some other farang lowlife wants to damage a business. The other way is to claim that a farang without a proper WP is "working" in the bar.

Edited June 18, 2012 by pepi2005

[Kerryd]

Well, they have been in business for what, almost 6 years now ? The fact that it was the Bangkok BiB should speak volumns. I recall when a (former) owner of the Wet 'n Wild got busted at his home (for drugs and such), it was the Bangkok BiB that did the deed then too. And awhile back there was a story about a Thai brothel (in Pattaya) being raided by, yep, the Bangkok BiB. That one was apparently to do with underaged "staff" as well.

Seems they need the BfB (Boys from Bangkok) to do the jobs here that the locals don't/won't/can't do themselves.

[Payboy]

Isn't Police Lieutenant Colonel Kwanphichai wearing a fake Ralph Lauren shirt? I didn't they made those shirts with pockets.

That's a limited edition created for BIB - cos' they need some place for all the pocket money.

The Lt. Col. does seem to be quite paranoid that his trousers might fall down.

[BWPattaya]

“wandering and mingling in a prostitution center.”

So, any visitor to Pattaya is guilty.

[Dukeleto]

Suspect Number 2, Ms. Chuchai, is considered guilty of “wandering and mingling in a prostitution center.”

If this is indeed correct then surely you could arrest anyone in Thailand at anytime.

[nightshift]

Could this be anything to do with the much discussed customer, who was staying at Secrets and was getting through millions of baht per month?

He was mentioned by Stick.

He had the money to set this up, but it would seem, not the brains.

But if the BiB saw how much this guy was spending at the bar, their eyes could have turned green.

[indieke]

Seems like the owner is back already, is posting on his forum.

[lounger]

Interesting that it was Bangkok police who raided the bar.

The bar must be paying tea-money to the local police, otherwise they wouldn't have been in business this long.

If they had stopped paying the money, it would have been the Pattaya police who would have raided.

But this was Bangkok police.

This sort of thing always pisses off the local Pattaya police, as it is always seen as stepping on their turf, and rather messes up the protection racket if they cannot guarantee protection.

There is no way that the Bangkok police happened to stumble upon this place and found to their horror that there might be prostitution taking place. It is no different to any other of the many gogo bars in Pattaya.

They went to Pattaya with the specific aim of taking this manager down.

This generally means one thing: someone paid the Bangkok police to raid Secrets.

The manager must have made an enemy somewhere along the line.

One grumbles about the Thai police, but often it turns out that it was another Westerner who engineered this situation.

ranma

not necessarily. It could be police rivalry and a Bangkok colonel got pissed off with an arrogant Pattaya colonel and decided to take out his best paying source....................... same rivalry, different gang.

[bangon04]

“procuring and luring a woman to commit an obscene act for others to reach completion"

Was she lured or did she volunteer? Sounds like the objective was a somewhat happier ending.

"The action of Mr. Grayhart is considered a criminal offense by “procuring and luring a woman to commit an obscene act for others to reach completion”.

But if nobody actually reaches "completion" then technically it would not be a crime??? Sounds like a viable defence strategy.....MLud

[DGS1244]

Who did he upset and as for the 'foreign volunteer policmen' otherwise known as Black Shirts need to stop being wanabes.

[firestar]

This comes down to a farang taking business from Thai establishments. Unwelcome in Thailand unless you're giving money. Taking it or making it is unacceptable.

Business rivalry jealousy between Farangs is much more common than you think.

Edited June 18, 2012 by firestar