Pattaya Café Owner arrested on firearms and human trafficking charges

[Oilhound]

Paid for sex in Thailand , have you?

what does this have to do with his comment?

We all pay for sex. It doesn't really matter if it's dinner and a movie, or baht to a "dancer". Same same. The latter is just being straightforward, the former is rolling the dice.

That's the first thing I heard in those posts that have been true.

[Pattaya46]

So many guns in the possession of a single person? KARMA...

Looking at the pictures, it looks more like arms of a collector than weapons kept for some illegal activity.

And the "so many" is very relative. How many weapons can you find in a private house in USA ?

[Dap]

Some pretty heavy fire power there on the table.

Really!

[RigPig]

Trafficking is far more likely to occur in Thai (Asian) only establishments. The people being trafficked are much easier controlled and regulated.

The majority of girls in Farang establishments I have had dealings with are mainly just lazy and looking for "easy" money. Maybe pressure from the family to send money back for the baby she had in the village to the Thai boy friend. "Working" in a bar can be quite lucrative and a lot of girls will only "short time" for that reason. Certainly easier and more money than working in a family mart.....

Most of them choose to do it, many may be lured by their "friends" all ready in the business and many enjoy the life style, sleep all day, party all night and good money, don't forget the lady drinks too, some girls can make a descent living from those alone.

Now the Lao and Burmese girls "working" in Thai establishments....... different story.

[SanukJoeII]

Again I see misinterpretations and/or lack of know-how in this thread, it annoys me as it puts a mist over the seriousness of the matter.

So again I will explain about the law in matters of minors.

1. The age of consent in Thailand is 15. That means that a 15 year old is supposed to know what he/she is doing and the result of those acts, when they have sex, either with another minor or with an adult, as long as it is not for money or goods. That means that a girl/boy of 15 and up can have a relationship with a minor or with an adult.

2. The minimum age to be working in the sex industry is 18. That means that any girl/boy of 18 or older can legally work as a prostitute.

3. The age to be allowed to drink alcohol and have entrance to e.g. nightclubs is 21.

Theoretically it could happen that someone picks up a legally working girl in a bar, pays the fine and leaves to go to a nightclub. The girl will be denied access. Strange in this example, but it's the law.

The other misunderstanding is human trafficking. It's not only about sex, it's about sexual slavery, forced labor, commercial exploitation, even about organ removal, surrogacy,ova removal, even providing a spouse for forced marriage. It's a trade, moving is not necessarily involved.

It's big business, 4 years ago it represented an estimated $ 31.6 billion.

Girls. more in the North than in Isan, are lured into jobs like waitress, receptionist, when they arrive they are transported to a brothel.

Others are sold by their parents or caretakers, in both cases the prostitution is against their will, that is human trafficking related crime.

As has been posted there is a major divide between local karaoke joints or brothels for Thai customers (and police officers), and the girly bars for farang in the sex tourist areas. Although also there sometimes underage (under 18) girls are working as a prostitute, it is less common than in the areas visited by Thais.

This cafe with this guy, including all the weapons, is a clear example of such a Thai prostitution place, based on forced sexual exploitation of girls, whether or not they are underage is not so important, as they are forced and victims of human trafficking.

Edited June 16, 2014 by SanukJoeII

[bander]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Have they stopped using their fingers to point now ?

Looks that way, it's disappointing, I quite like the pointing finger from the morons who try to tell us who the bad guy is :-)

[Pattaya46]

3. The age to be allowed to drink alcohol and have entrance to e.g. nightclubs is 21.

Pretty sure it's 20, not 21.

Edit: Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, BE 2551 (2008)

§ 29 - No person may sell an alcoholic beverage to the following:

(1) A person under twenty years of age;

(2) A person being in a state of drunkenness to the extent incapable of maintaining his own consciousness.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Alcoholic_Beverage_Control_Act,_BE_2551_(2008) Edited June 16, 2014 by Pattaya46

[blue6062]

prostitution ? no prostitution in Pattya

[lvr181]

Hat like that, Guilty!

At least it is pointing the right way, unlike many young farangs!

Sorry, I digress.

Edit: Extra comment

Edited June 16, 2014 by lvr181

[Briggsy]

Where is the Lompok area?

[slipperylobster]

many in Thailand just dont realize that Bar girl/boy/tran prostitution in Thailand IS human trafficing

Quite correct . . . but how many are there within prostitution "by choice" . . . ? Is that still trafficking? (I'm talking about "adults" here not "children")

Sure, the majority of girls sign up for the work....but it is the owner/manager who receives the bulk of the money, does the advertisement, and fires the girls that do not put out. So yes indeed. That is selling...(trafficking) by definition.

If the girl was kidnapped, beaten up and raped, then forced into it....that would be added charges, and probably not the case....

Edited June 16, 2014 by slipperylobster

[Tatsujin]

many in Thailand just dont realize that Bar girl/boy/tran prostitution in Thailand IS human trafficing

Quite correct . . . but how many are there within prostitution "by choice" . . . ? Is that still trafficking? (I'm talking about "adults" here not "children")

The so-called "choice" you talk about ( consoling yourself are you? ) would for 99.9% of them, be at the bottom of the list of options, had their been alternatives. So many were of them were children, young women, burdened with the obligation to support their parents. They were pushed into getting money by any means.

The masters of slavery are consumers, all over the world and including you, who crave the latest in everything from electronics to fashion, at the lowest price. The customers of the arrested cafe owner, who use his girls, are as guilty as he is. Paid for sex in Thailand , have you?

No offence, but can you stop putting words in my mouth and making assumptions about what I do or do not do or want.

[SanukJoeII]

3. The age to be allowed to drink alcohol and have entrance to e.g. nightclubs is 21.

Pretty sure it's 20, not 21.

Edit: Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, BE 2551 (2008)

§ 29 - No person may sell an alcoholic beverage to the following:

(1) A person under twenty years of age;

(2) A person being in a state of drunkenness to the extent incapable of maintaining his own consciousness.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Alcoholic_Beverage_Control_Act,_BE_2551_(2008)

Correct, typo on my side... 20 it is.

[ggt]

Pattaya? All the old timer ex-pats have told me...nothing ever happen in Pattaya when Thailand has their political divide every three years...sounds like with all the bombs and firearms being discovered...that the locals were planning something sinister for the Pattaya folks...

[cardinalblue]

Total value amount was 1 million baht. Sounds like a small potato..lets focus on real money....

CB

[JesseFrank]

When there are 10 announcements per day for sweeping scum off the streets including the big fish in both Pattaya and Phuket, then we can say that there is really is change for better. A few token heads here and there does not cut it just yet. The quantity and quality of arrests will be a good enough indicator and then it will be the turn of the judiciary.

When there are 10 announcements per day for sweeping scum off the streets including the big fish in both Pattaya and Phuket, then we can say that there is a lot of scum out there.

[mickba]

What got the man in trouble was most likely children under age working in the bar...

no one likes that.

Unfortunately that's not true or it wouldn't happen.

[Ohio]

The reality is that there are some more Guns of the Street . Good Job.

The 'Pointing' is getting 'Heavy' there Rim

Guess he must be a high calibre kind of guy.

[Torrens54]

Just wondering, why was he permitted to hide behind Dark Sun Glasses and that stupid Hat? The "WWW Pattaya..." Watermark over his dial also helps to cover his identity. Perhaps he wants to avoid "Loss of Face."?

[Paulzed]

Just only one Pattaya Bar owner involved in Money Laundering, guns and prostitution????

Come on!!!!

Pattaya should be a ghost town by now if they were serious about cleaning up the rot there!

[pantareiyingluck]

many in Thailand just dont realize that Bar girl/boy/tran prostitution in Thailand IS human trafficing

Quite correct . . . but how many are there within prostitution "by choice" . . . ? Is that still trafficking? (I'm talking about "adults" here not "children")

Depends on the definition of trafficking. Do you need to come from another country to be considered trafficked? Or is it enough that the same kind of tactics are used?

For example, a girl from Isaan could be tricked into working in Pattaya, they might tell her she will work in massage. And pay for her room and trip there, they might also pay for clothes etc or some made up charges?. When she arrives she is told the bad news that she needs to pay off the debt by working as a prostitute. Being a scared little girl she feels forced.. I would consider her trafficked,, even though she never left thailand. Correct me if i'm wrong.

Ofcourse, it's more horrible when they take someones passport etc...

*edit* Another situation might be when the girls parents, again from Isaan owes money to loansharks, and they take the daughter as payment.. The daughter is having a hard time to refuse, because thai girls rarely if ever rebel against their parents.

Think about this when you pay for prostitutes, you don't know what kind of evil bastards you are supporting.

ps. I've done well above my fair share of bargirls, and I am deeply ashamed..

Behind all those lovely smiles there is a great suffering of Manic Depression. Sold by the parents or other relatives higher in the pecking order, pressure to support the family............ Abuse, prostitution, human trafficking, and hardly any Thai bothers.

[BigC]

many in Thailand just dont realize that Bar girl/boy/tran prostitution in Thailand IS human trafficing

Under age people plus this is just a small news clip I can imagine there is more to the stories they just report the basics

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Benmart]

Thank goodness the government/regime/junta/whatever is on top of this problem before Thailand gets a bad reputation! This will probably make the United States delay release of its human trafficking report to change the Thailand section, give The Guardian's writers pause, and make all those Cambodians wish they hadn't been so hasty.

Thank goodness. It seems that any attempt to do "good", as in this case, ends up providing subject matter for critical, marginalizing comments.

I prefer not to side-step the public safety aspect, and any attempt by law enforcement to apprehend weapons possessing criminals.

Kudos for the police, the Army and anyone else that is trying to make improvements.

[Benmart]

So many guns in the possession of a single person? KARMA...

Looking at the pictures, it looks more like arms of a collector than weapons kept for some illegal activity.

And the "so many" is very relative. How many weapons can you find in a private house in USA ?

The article is about an incident in Pattaya, Thailand, not Somewhere, USA.