50 Pattaya Beach Prostitutes arrested by Pattaya Police

[bushwacker]

I notice that all of these raids are done late at night. Is that because:

1. The police want to give the ladies enough time to earn some money so that they can pay the fine. OR

2. The police want to punish the ladies for asking the Johns for too much money, being too picky or just being too ugly.

It the police have limited powers and need to be able to prove a violation, then is this B100 fine not the same as the farang hazzles in Bkk on Sukh?

Maybe the police just want to get their share like they do from the bars and clubs. Why not just walk around and collect instead of rounding up ladies and staining their reputation with this nonsense?

It hardly seems fair that the good looking ladies that provide great service are always taken early and therefore never rounded up. Is it fair to punish somebody because they are old or ugly?

[BernieOnTour]

This is incredible bullshit. If they really think that for improving the image of Pattaya they need to round up prositutes, then they should do it not only in the beach but in the Walking street and other bars too. But they stopped just before the start of the Walking Street. That's what the article says very clearly. To me it speaks that they are not fighting with the prostitutes but with the freelancers. This I call corruption and this is why I have no respect to police.

This is just supporting bars, so they get more barfines. Police should arrest drugdealers instead but then they lose income I guess. every single day I am offered drugs on the beach. They do nothing. And ladies are stupid too. They are not breaking any law by standing on the beach. It is incredible hypocricy here in thailand..

And I really don't understand how one improves the image of the Capital of Prostitution by rounding up prostitutes. If they really stop the prostitution here one day, then they stop the bars and hotels and restaurants and schools and everything. Then they can bring the fishing nets out again...

What you say is totally true but everyone expects prostitutes to be working in the bars. For regular tourists the line up of prostitutes along Beach Rd gives a very bad impression. When I stayed in South Pattaya I liked to walk along the beach after dinner but not any more. I stay in Jomtien now which is far more comfortable for me. The Walking Street is one big bar area; I noticed some good restaurants there have disappeared,

It seems, you are going to bed really early...

You should visit Jomtien Beach Rd. from 1 a.m. onwards!

[thehelmsman]

The ones who deserve the pity are the cheap farts who enjoy a little cheap something something. Guess they can go back to their 7-11 stoop and have another chang.

[thurien]

why don't you pin this as exclusive weekly news on TVF - repeat it once a week - the girls don't change, the 100 baht fines don't change, the place does not change, the pride of the police officers does not change...nothing changes, so also no need to update any photos: easy journalism

[ttthailand]

They should drug test and also test for HIV and STDs before letting them back on the streets. There is no stopping them so at least clean up what you can.

[MrWorldwide]

I guess the gogos and bars might have complained. Freelancers are a serious threat to their business

Ever been to Bamboo Bar ? Freelancers are their business, and the last few times I've been past business was booming. Note that these arent the Coconut Bar-style freelancer - they're a whole lot better dressed and tend to trawl the clubs instead of walking the streets, looking for considerably more than 500 baht for their services. Bar owners will tolerate freelancers (to the point of allowing them to work for ladydrinks and barfines) as long as they bring in the punters - and I know several fulltime bargirls who work freelance post-2am. This is another photo op for the BiB, and an easy one at that - the girls know its a charade and so do the other Thais working in Pattaya.

[spidermike007]

Great job. Get the girls/boys off the streets and back into the bars.

If you were a bar owner, how many of them would you be prepared to employ ? They mightnt all be thieves and rogues, but they're not the cream of the crop either.

How much do you want to wager this has to be due to pressure from the "industry" in pattaya? The only ones who benefit from the freelancers are the punters, and the freelancers. The police, the bar owners, the go go owners, make nothing. So, rounding them up is a way of showing their allegiance to the bar owners, and has nothing whatsoever, with the image of the city. This is BS PR being dispensed for the weak minded. Granted, we are not talking about the finest group of women. But, in general the overall quality in Pattaya has declined so precipitously that many enjoy the alternative to the bars.

[spidermike007]

This is incredible bullshit. If they really think that for improving the image of Pattaya they need to round up prositutes, then they should do it not only in the beach but in the Walking street and other bars too. But they stopped just before the start of the Walking Street. That's what the article says very clearly. To me it speaks that they are not fighting with the prostitutes but with the freelancers. This I call corruption and this is why I have no respect to police.

This is just supporting bars, so they get more barfines. Police should arrest drugdealers instead but then they lose income I guess. every single day I am offered drugs on the beach. They do nothing. And ladies are stupid too. They are not breaking any law by standing on the beach. It is incredible hypocricy here in thailand...

And I really don't understand how one improves the image of the Capital of Prostitution by rounding up prostitutes. If they really stop the prostitution here one day, then they stop the bars and hotels and restaurants and schools and everything. Then they can bring the fishing nets out again...

"they should do it not only in the beach but in the Walking street and other bars too."

The point here is that the girls soliciting on the streets are committing an offence, the girls dancing in bars are not. What the go-go dancers do after they leave the bar they work in is up to them, it's not the responsibility of the bar owners.

"They are not breaking any law by standing on the beach."

They are, soliciting and loitering are offences.

Do you honestly think the police would be interested in sacrificing all the millions of baht the bars and go go bars pay them to stay open, and unharrassed? Think about it. Please.

[MrWorldwide]

what about making a photobook of all the thieving ladyboys for once ?

There should be a website dedicated to exposing them, but we're talking about a particularly nasty group of people here.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/662139-norwegian-beaten-to-death-soi-7-pattaya/

Utterly reprehensible that some here saw the need to blame the victim in that thread, even if most of us know better than to start something with a Thai.

[ttthailand]

Great job. Get the girls/boys off the streets and back into the bars.

If you were a bar owner, how many of them would you be prepared to employ ? They mightnt all be thieves and rogues, but they're not the cream of the crop either.

How much do you want to wager this has to be due to pressure from the "industry" in pattaya? The only ones who benefit from the freelancers are the punters, and the freelancers. The police, the bar owners, the go go owners, make nothing. So, rounding them up is a way of showing their allegiance to the bar owners, and has nothing whatsoever, with the image of the city. This is BS PR being dispensed for the weak minded. Granted, we are not talking about the finest group of women. But, in general the overall quality in Pattaya has declined so precipitously that many enjoy the alternative to the bars.

There could be a little pressure from the bar owners but I think it is more about all the crime and bad press they bring to Pattaya.

[Partigo]

My 2 bahts worth: (1) there are some really nice girls at the beach (but Auzzies meet girls at the beach...so...).......(2) wait till ASEAN visa arrangements bite - - they'll be trucking Thai pooyings TO THE BEACH.........(3) regular round ups - reminds me of when they busted Nana Massage for prostitution.......and left 874 other parlours unmolested.....(oops...that's 3 bahts worth...)

[Gsxrnz]

"At this point they had truckloads of detainees who were taken to Pattaya Police Station."

I wonder if the journalist was using the word Truckloads in its slang form, meaning "a lot" or "enough". Or if he literally meant at least two trucks loaded with Coconut Bar hookers.

This is quite a serious technical grammatical issue. I've often wondered what you call a large number of Thai hookers. A gaggle, a flock, a herd, a bunch?

So if he just meant "a lot", then we would have a semi official term to describe a lot of hookers (arguably 50) in one location - to wit, Truckloads.

25 or thereabouts could therefore be called half a truckload.

However, if he literally meant more than one truck loaded with hookers, then I am REALLY pissed off that I wasn't there to witness the spectacle. I mean really, you could probably have sold tickets if you were quick enough.

[Greenhill]

Lol - one woman (?) gives the finger to the photographer and they blur out just the finger in the image.

I think you're reading too much into this! She's just putting her hand up 'cause she wants to go to the toilet!!

[MrWorldwide]

However, if he literally meant more than one truck loaded with hookers, then I am REALLY pissed off that I wasn't there to witness the spectacle. I mean really, you could probably have sold tickets if you were quick enough.

Still havent seen anything in Pattaya to compare with the spectacle of Soi 4 ladyboys sprinting down Nana to avoid the cops. No doubt their lookouts out on Suk make a phone call and that spooks the 'herd' into action. Should be more of it - get some viral marketing going and it could even become a tourist attraction alongside the running of the bulls in Spain or that weird cheese rolling festival in the UK.

[balo]

Actually the police does this to register their names and check IDs. It's not so much about being arrested , even if they pay a small fine.

Next time a tourist gets robbed by one of these it will be easier for the police to find them .

They do this almost every month.

Edited January 8, 2015 by balo

[cup-O-coffee]

Nothing new here, including a complete lack of any principle, when comparing to and casting judgment on anyone else occupying real estate on the sidewalk. They are all there to fleece money from the foreigner, and I'll warrant none of them have license to do so... hence, no principle. Focusing on the one and ignoring the others demonstrates an idiotic agenda. This is pure and simple Thai against Thai business and I am convinced it has absolutely no consideration for the foreigner. They could care less about you, ...even if you were hacked and dumped into the ocean.

[csabo]

This begs the question why prostitution is illegal anyway. Who cares what a women (or man or some middle version) does with her body. The most beautiful women in the world are getting "paid for it" in some way also, just ask their boyfriends or husbands or worse yet, ex-husbands. Why can't the girls who really need the cash use what they have to make ends meet? Shameful that government, this one or any other, can determine that it is unlawful to touch someones dirty parts with yours and then tip for it. What nonsense. Punishing people for fulfilling an instinctual necessity is like taxing breathing.

[Manbing]

This will crush the economy, already slowed and reduce the tourists coming to spend in the country.

Half the farms in Isaan will suffer defaulting mortgages.

Coupled with the restructuring of the Police force to reduce corruption, the redshirt movements must be reeling from a slew of crippling blows today

[mrowe1973]

If they want to enhance the image they need to demolish the entire city and start over. They could also rid the beach of the rats and crap in the sand. I can't even walk in the beach let alone swim in it!

[uptheos]

This same group get arrested every month!

[uptheos]

The ones who deserve the pity are the cheap farts who enjoy a little cheap something something. Guess they can go back to their 7-11 stoop and have another chang.

You're right, better to pay 2,000 baht + lady drinks + bar fine and then go back and go to sleep.

[Kerryd]

Yes, once upon a time Beach Road was jam-packed with all manner of lady boys, free lancers, pickpockets, thieves, drug addicts and STD riddled hookers that couldn't get a job in a normal establishment anymore. It was heaven for those cheapest of the cheap that were willing to take the risks in order to maintain their defiant "I never pay bar fines" stance.

Of course, the number of complaints (and subsequent news articles) about pick pockets, drugged and robbed tourists and other unsavory activities (like public drug use, lewd acts, etc) eventually forced the city to act. There was a time when it was a struggle to walk along the beach side and you had to keep one hand on your wallet (and at least one brain cell sober) or you could be in trouble even if your only reason for being there was just to go somewhere else. I've walked from soi 7 to Walking Street quite often, at different times of the evening, in various stages of sobriety and often found it easier to walk on the narrower "bar" side of the road rather than on the wider "beach" side.

Never had a problem personally, but then again, I don't wander around drunk flashing huge hunks of gold and propositioning anything with a pulse either (unlike a lot of the people who frequent that area). I also know why there are (were) so many "choices" available (see first sentence of first paragraph) and am not the least bit interested in the potential risks just so I can brag about not paying bar fines.

And seriously, the Beach Road inhabitants were never "a threat" to the go-go bars and still aren't. The biggest threat to the go-go bars is the go-go bars themselves. Where there used to be barely a dozen go-go bars in all of Walking Street there are now what, 70-80+ ? Plus dozens more between soi 2-13 where there used to be none at all. I toured a few with some local (Thai) friends of mine recently and it was pretty obvious that the "standards" are not what they used to be, no doubt in part due to the increasing demand for dancers as more and more a-go-gos open. Even with that increased demand, the "free-lancers" are not a threat as again, there are usually pretty good reasons why most of them are free-lancing) and it's not because they like the freedom of standing under a palm tree for 12 hours hoping some cheap charlie will grace them with his unwashed, drunken presence.)

The big "Beach Road Clean-up" a few years ago was meant to make that area safer and more enjoyable for the "normal" tourists (including Thais from other areas of the country that come to Pattaya for holidays). I believe the intent was to "push" all, or at least most, of the undesirables down into Walking Street and let the businesses there sort them out. It worked, to a degree, for awhile. I was almost shocked the first time I went down Walking Street after the first "clean-up" as I'd never seen that many free-lancers on the street before. Previously the various businesses used to make it known that they weren't welcome in that area, which is why they were all on Beach Road to begin with. Now it's a common sight to see gaggles of them all along WS. But as with anywhere, when someplace gets too crowded, people tend to spread out.

No doubt a lot of the crowd on Beach Road now are there because the pickings are too slim on Walking Street, there is too much competition and it is too "visible" (and a lot of those free-lancers benefit greatly from being in dimly lit areas). I think the "round-ups" are meant to be more of an annoyance than anything, and to encourage those people to move to a different area. The problem is, there is just getting to be too many of them. It's like pushing a handful of sand into the ocean. You push a little out and more swarms in from the sides until that tiny little dent you've made disappears and it looks like you've done nothing at all.

The problem is never going to go away completely (unless they somehow manage to eradicate all "sin" from the city and turn it into the family paradise they keep dreaming about). All they can really try to do is contain and confine it to certain areas and hope it doesn't become as big a problem as it was in the past.

Will they be successful ? Will Pattaya shed it's sin and become the Asian Disneyland (instead of the Adult Disneyland) ? Will little green aliens eventually replace the current hordes of cheap charlies not spending anything (and would they be called "farangs" as well) ?

Stay tuned to ThaiVisa where all these questions (and more) will (or won't) be answered eventually (or not at all) !

[ATF]

It's mostly tourists from the Indian Sub-Continent who use these services, trying so save on a barfine and a couple of ladydrinks and then they are surprised when they get robbed.

The definition od stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Time to start arresting the punters. The cops would also make more money that way too.

[siam2007]

time to legalize prostition as it is the case in most civilzed countries of the world, except in "lose-your-face" - Asia

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[how241]

So the idea to promote the image of Pattaya to foreign tourists is to publicise the fact that there are a lot of prostitutes hanging around on the beach.

That'll work!

ha ha ha ...Your thinking too much, but your right .

[MrWorldwide]

time to legalize prostition as it is the case in most civilzed countries of the world, except in "lose-your-face" - Asia

Based on this map, the US, Norway and Sweden aren't 'civilised countries'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_by_country#mediaviewer/File:Prostitution_laws_of_the_world.PNG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_by_country

OK - you've got a point re the US, but Norway and Sweden are generally seen as civilised countries. Asia, like much of the Arab world, is obsessed with maintaining the public facade of conservatism, and that includes Thailand. Hypocritical BS, but Oz was the same for a very long time.

[ATF]

Once Thailand returns to a civilian government the US Navy will be allowed to visit again and all these urchins will be gainfully employed and have pockets full of cash.

[SiSePuede419]

"suspected of being prostitutes"

Suspected--based on what evidence?

Sand in their hoo haws???

Edited January 9, 2015 by SiSePuede419

[SiSePuede419]

Based on this map, the US, Norway and Sweden aren't 'civilised countries'

Actually, Prostitution is legal in the US (Nevada), and is tolerated on the streets of the two largest cities, New York and LA. Plus Miami.

Every other big city in America, prostitution has moved off the street to online and florishes on Backpage, which has some big Poo Yai behind it.

So I've heard...