Police raid on M club. Foreigners arrested.

[surangw]

pay a fine, set up a tea money payment schedule and back to business as usual ?

[EyesWideOpen]

strange ( not really) we never see and raid activity on the jet ski businesses

Nor will we ever see it... :-) Could suradit69 please chip in with the

rose colored glasses reason for that ?? This could be amusing.......

[EyesWideOpen]

Could be a payment issue? Non payment, late payment? If you get my drift.

The all time classic raid was the police did at the Kinneare short

time bar. The owner gives the standard monthly shakedown

money to his Thai wife to give to the police. In a trick

move , she simply pockets the money. Now of course

the place is raided for non payment of shakedown money.

In the course of the raid the owner is angry as he thinks

he is fully paid up. In his state he touches / shoves an officer.

Now of course straight to jail for him. Place is closed down

for a period of time, and opens with a new owner.....One of

my all time favorite stories here.

[MrWorldwide]

Cannot stand these stupid police raids anymore, better stay home !!!

They're gonna miss you down at 69 Bar.

[Pattaya46]

Still nothing about that in local news after 3 days ?? Or I did I miss it ?

[Tokay]

Welcome to the new Pattaya.

If you're going to hang out in such places, be prepared for the worst at all times or deal with the consequences of police who operate with impunity and can do with you as they wish.

[luckyluke]

The raid occurred Saturday afternoon, there was a pool party, police in plain clothes took about 15/20 people to the police station, apparently the owner and cashier were only released Monday morning.

I live just next door ( MaxxCentral ) and frequently have a drink there, I was lucky I wasn't there then.

Business still close now.

[Hostile]

They raided Beach club jomtien. Gentelmens club Cozy beach Japanese naked Sushi.

Arresting customers thats joke...

[NanLaew]

The OP says, "The real point of this is to let you know that you are strongly encouraged to carry a copy of your passport AND visa."

I think the real point is for those of a persuasion to frequent these so-called "gentlemen's clubs" is to wise up, stay away and change your 'shopping' habits. These busts are not getting any publicity for a reason but the fact that this is possibly the 3rd such establishment shut down in as many weeks should tell you something.

[MrWorldwide]

Welcome to the new Pattaya.

If you're going to hang out in such places, be prepared for the worst at all times or deal with the consequences of police who operate with impunity and can do with you as they wish.

The new Pattaya ? This is from one of the Thailand's longest running and most (in)famous bloggers - the year was 2008 .... bolding is mine. Board rules prevent me linking to the original rant but those who have been around for a while dont need our (Bangkok-based) blogger mate to tell them that this is a cycle repeating itself. The GFC certainly wouldnt have helped in 2008, but I know bar owners who were here then - they survived while others went under. FWIW, not one of the Thai bar owners I've spoken to in central Pattaya appears concerned about this crackdown, but they are all in bars where you can see every occupant from the Soi. Whatever you think of Walking St, does anyone seriously see the go-gos making way for high-end boutiques and restaurants ?

On to the blog excerpt - that final paragraph says it all for me.

And that's exactly what happened. Punters went straight to Pattaya, many bypassing Bangkok all together and business in Bangkok's bar areas dropped accordingly. Needless to say, Pattaya bar owners were thrilled and Sin City's low season of 2006 was hardly what you could call "low". Weekends saw carload after carload of Bangkok expats making the 150 km pilgrimage to Pattaya, the City Of Bargirls.

So why oh why is Pattaya hurting now? Why are there so few customers around? Hotel occupancy rates are way down and bar takings are at rock bottom. Across the spectrum of business owners, everyone is asking just what is going on. The rot hit before the world fell into economic turmoil and many are nervous about what the future holds for Pattaya.

No-one can deny that Pattaya’s success story was built on the back of sex tourism. The problem is that the recently elected mayor feels Pattaya's reputation needs to be improved and is keen to see the implementation of changes that will see Pattaya become less known for its naughty offerings.

The authorities are making things increasingly difficult for bar owners and operators. There used to be a feeling that anything goes but now Pattaya bars are much more circumspect. Police raids are more common and bar owners say that there are more and more regulations they have to be aware of. The smallest breach and they could be closed for a month or face huge fines.

[MrWorldwide]

The OP says, "The real point of this is to let you know that you are strongly encouraged to carry a copy of your passport AND visa."

I think the real point is for those of a persuasion to frequent these so-called "gentlemen's clubs" is to wise up, stay away and change your 'shopping' habits. These busts are not getting any publicity for a reason but the fact that this is possibly the 3rd such establishment shut down in as many weeks should tell you something.

I'll accept that when they start lining punters up outside some of the dodgier establishments on Soi 6. I suspect that a little too much tea money changes hands for that to happen, but I guess we'll find out in the coming weeks. This crackdown will be history by Songkran - there is just too much money to be made by all concerned to risk that sort of business.

[NanLaew]

The OP says, "The real point of this is to let you know that you are strongly encouraged to carry a copy of your passport AND visa."

I think the real point is for those of a persuasion to frequent these so-called "gentlemen's clubs" is to wise up, stay away and change your 'shopping' habits. These busts are not getting any publicity for a reason but the fact that this is possibly the 3rd such establishment shut down in as many weeks should tell you something.

I'll accept that when they start lining punters up outside some of the dodgier establishments on Soi 6. I suspect that a little too much tea money changes hands for that to happen, but I guess we'll find out in the coming weeks. This crackdown will be history by Songkran - there is just too much money to be made by all concerned to risk that sort of business.

Compared to Soi 6, the 'clubs' that are getting busted are the low-hanging fruit; mostly farang owned and operated and rather like shooting fish in a barrel. I agree that there's way, way too much investment by significant locals in Soi 6 for it to be given much more than the recent 'inspection' by the BiB.