Thailand's DSI seizes 30 million baht worth of abortion pills

[webfact]

DSI Seizes 30 Million Baht Worth Of Abortion Pills
By Khaosod Online



BANGKOK: -- The Division of Special Investigation (DSI) has arrested a man accused of selling thousands of illegal abortion pills on the internet.

Police said Mr. Somchai Sunancharoen, 48, sold the drugs via 9 websites he has been running.

Mr. Tharit Pengdith, Chief of DSI, announced at a press conference that police also found 120 packages of the drug, with 2,008 unpacked tablets worth no less than 1 million baht and 51,018 unlabeled tablets worth 30 million baht at the suspect′s house in Mueang district, Nakhon Pathom province.

Reportedly, Mr. Somchai had run his websites for over a year, and had received over 20,000 orders during June to December 2013, pocketing an income of approximately 4 million baht a month.

The pills are reportedly sold at varied prices, depending on the stage of pregnancy. Moreover, many of Mr. Somchai’s customers are college students and women who purchased the drugs for personal use, said Mr. Tharit.

Abortion is illegal in Thailand, with exceptions of unwanted pregnancy due to the mother’s health and criminal abuse. Unwanted pregnancy is described as a major factor for abortion, according to statistics in 2010, where 71.5% of women interviewed in the survey claimed they had become pregnance unintentionally while 53.1% of the sample also mentioned that they had ignored birth control methods.

In the same poll gathered from 101 hospitals in 13 provinces, 28% of 15 – 19 years old women have gone through abortion, whereas 30.4% were students, and 45% stated that they have no income.

Many women with unwanted pregnancies turned to illegal clinics, which put them at risk of having infected complications and severe miscarriage. Statistics from the Ministry of Public Health revealed that nearly 300,000 women go through illegal abortions each year.

Source: http://www.khaosod.co.th/en/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRNNE5qa3pOREkwTXc9PQ==


-- Khaosod English 2013-12-14

[tominbkk]

Love the yahoo with the sunglasses.

[Tokay]

That's it, force them into shady and dangerous clinics.

[Mosha]

That's it, force them into shady and dangerous clinics.

Or taking a cocktail of drugs and cheap alcohol in an attempt to self abort. We have 2 nieces staying with us. One is a survivor of such an attempt. Whether it's because of this or not, she's a bit "slow". Her mum was 14 at the time.

[ezzra]

That's it, force them into shady and dangerous clinics.

On the other hand, buying unlabeled, dodgy medicine on the net is not to be encouraged,

nor a solution either,

[noitom]

This illegal abortion pill trade is clearly run by a THai Mr. big and not just the web site dealer. Have the DSI "flipped" the dealer to get to the criminal organization behind this? Has the newspaper "challenged" the DSI as to their assessment of leads or info on Thai Mr. Bigs controlling this racketeer business?

[ramrod711]

Mr. Tharit Pengdith, Chief of DSI

I know nothing about abortion pills, but i am very impressed that Tharit has finally made an appearance. This is the first time i have seen him since Sutheps group hit the streets and he was going to arrest them all for blowing whistles, which is something he failed to do when people were burning Bangkok.

[klauskunkel]

a question about perp pictures in general:

Who supplies those face cover-ups? If it's the perps themselves, then they are well prepared to be caught...

If it's the police, well do they have an assortment of different sizes and can you choose your color?

[FireMedic]

Of course abortion is illegal. The more people there are (dirt poor or wealthy), they (government) have to keep the corrupt way of fleecing the people. More people = more people to steal money from. Just like all the other "illegal" activities in Thailand, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, animal trafficking, there's lots of money to be made when something is deemed illegal.

[cosmont]

Thailand the land of Hypocrisis...

[MMarlow]

This illegal abortion pill trade is clearly run by a THai Mr. big and not just the web site dealer. Have the DSI "flipped" the dealer to get to the criminal organization behind this? Has the newspaper "challenged" the DSI as to their assessment of leads or info on Thai Mr. Bigs controlling this racketeer business?

Has anyone challenged you about your clearly unfounded 'Mr Big' assertion? Where did you get that information from?

[Joe Mamma]

All this unprotected activity. STD city.

[belg]

if the pills are chemically sound

than why stop this ?

better to have unwanted teen pregnancies????????????

thai buddism? thainess??

[Nemesis7]

If the pills are clinically proven safe then let it stay in the market to stop unwanted pregnancy

[rogerdee123]

Get ready for the baby boom

[khunPer]

The demand merely shows that there is a need...

[warriorbangkok]

Abortion should remain illegal, and I'm very pleased with the Thai authorities work on this case. Abortion is the same as murder, and "unwanted pregnancy" is a totally unacceptable and degenerate reason for undergoing an abortion.

The only times that abortion should be permitted is if there is a severe risk to the mother's health (e.g. If the womb is cancerous).

[bangon04]

"Unwanted pregnancy is described as a major factor for abortion, according to statistics in 2010,"

Presumably the number of mothers who decided to abort their wanted pregnancies just for the fun / experience was quite low.....

[aaacorp]

Abortion should remain illegal, and I'm very pleased with the Thai authorities work on this case. Abortion is the same as murder, and "unwanted pregnancy" is a totally unacceptable and degenerate reason for undergoing an abortion.

The only times that abortion should be permitted is if there is a severe risk to the mother's health (e.g. If the womb is cancerous).

I was wondering when a comment like yours would appear on TV...

[geriatrickid]

The drug is not identified. One does not know if the manufacturer was a legitimate pharmaceutical manufacturer following safe practices and providing the drugs in the appropriate dose etc. On that basis alone, the distribution of the products had to be stopped.

In respect to the available drugs, some are misinterpreted as "abortion" drugs, when they are not. The most common, post coitus contraceptive is the use of progestogen.(aka Plan B, Next Choice) It is a synthetic hormone that prevents the attachment of a fertilized egg to the uterus wall. It is not an "abortion" pill. This product is available over the counter upon request from the pharmacist in many countries and has a proven record of efficacy. Some of Thailand's women's health advocacy groups have been fighting for years for a woman's right to access this contraceptive. It is time that Thailand removed the chains of bondage from women and allowed women to control their own bodies.

Edited December 14, 2013 by geriatrickid

[abq2020]

"Many women with unwanted pregnancies turned to illegal clinics, which put them at risk of having infected complications and severe miscarriage. Statistics from the Ministry of Public Health revealed that nearly 300,000 women go through illegal abortions each year."

I am nearly speechless, and it is a good thing...else I might get into some trouble by speaking and writing my real thoughts about this (and my real thoughts are not in anyway negative towards the girls and ladies).

[stockholm1995]

One of the reasons there are so many in sex trade in Thailand is because of unwanted pregnancies and difficulties to do a abortion.

[newatthis]

Surely, a condom from the 7/11 would be cheaper and safer. It seems the sex trade workers have more sense.

[trainman34014]

With all the serious stuff these blokes are supposed to be 'investigating' and the Felons they are supposed to be 'pursuing'; this is the best they can come up with ? Pah !