'Trafficked' Laotian sex workers rescued in northeastern Thailand

[thaiguzzi]

# Every market town, and small city in the North and NE will have at least half a dozen of these "brothels", Karaoke bars is the correct terminology. Set up to cater for locals.

# A large percentage have Laos girls. Some indeed are "underage". from a western perspective.

# But underage here means jack sh#t to the locals. I believe the age of consent here is 16, in Laos 15. Yet it is very common in the villages for 14 year olds to be pregnant/give birth and even marry, village style, and no one bats an eyelid, inc local coppers.

# In my experience i have never come across any of the employees in the karaoke bars who were not there out of their free will. In fact most have to do a border run every 30 days for their "legit" visa in their passports, then visit relatives/family for a couple of days.

# Their take is generally half the fee, the other goes to the house. A fee can be as little as 300 baht, or as much as 1000 baht. It has been known that a Thai local actually falls in love with a girl, and pays a fee, generally over 10k to take her out of the scene, marry etc. NE Thai men have a thing for Lao girls, paler skin, bigger tits etc and think they are more attractive than local Thai girls.

# The police run a lot of the K bars, and also generally pay the girl's family a payment in advance for a set period, say 10k for a year.

# The girls are doing a job, that they accept, and it pays far more, than anything they can earn back home.

# The "trafficking" thing may exist, but i doubt it is even half a percent of the industry. Most of the busts are power grabs by different police forces from different districts muscling in on other's businesses. Simple, but not pretty.

# As i have been told many times by Thais, the police are the mafia, the mafia are the police.

[cracker1]

I Believe the Chief of this Police District should be charged with not performing his duty. These failings need to be attacked from the TOP.

[Tony125]

what's this 'inactive posts' BS? anyway very best wishes for those girls locked into a life of misery

Chances are those girls are ruing being caught by the police. They were not slaves, and they were earning money.

Sad situation, yes. But "traficked"...I doubt it.

Don't know if your naieve or just stupid. If they were voluntarily working there they would have paid fine deported and crossed back over next week. The term brothel is a place were women/girls are kept to service men (mostly Thai locals) who are usually not paid and cannot leave the establisment. Not the same as bar girls who come down to make money and can leave any bar if they don't like it or are not making enough money at that particular bar.

The report of the women that died in fires at brothels who were chained why do you think they were chained up? Do you see bar girls chained up? They can do you at short time room , leave and go to your hotel and even on holiday with you if you pay club their bar fine. That is NOT the same as girls as the article mentioned "forced" to work at a brothel as basically sex slaves.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Tony125

[thesetat2013]

I wonder how true the statements " was forced"

Anytime, i meet a bar girl, she cannot wait to get back in the bar.

Not saying being forced not possible, just seems many do not want to do anything else but work in brothels

under aged girls tricked or sold into sex slavery are not the same as Thai "bar girls" talking on their iphones to their Thai boyfriends.

these are young Laotian girls in back rooms being ass raped. they get nothing. they are prisoners.

You state that as fact! Have you been there and know this for sure? If not, then keep your trap shut because you are just trolling.

[thesetat2013]

Yes I remember the brothel fire a few years ago (near Khao San Rd if memory serves) Where the girls were chained to the beds and died.

For those members who claim the girls are mostly voluntary: there are many girls that would claim they are but are coerced by their families who put continual pressure on them to send money home.

Case in point: Whilst living in Chiang Mai my friend had a staff member, a seveteen year old girl, who he was paying 12,000 baht a month to. Not much, but the deal was she could go to school and he would cover her education too. This young lady was everything you would want in a member of staff: Honest, loyal and loved studying - in which she could see a future.

Her family in Isaan had a different view however. They put her under constant pressure to stop studying and join her two sisters and Aunty in Bangkok. The story was they worked in a pub and earned good money as waitresses. Eventually she agreed to go down to BKK just to see her Aunty. On arrival an 'Aunty' picked her up, drove straight to a gogo bar and during the course of the evening forced her to get up on stage wearing a bikini saying her mother had agreed she works here now.

We got the phonecall at 3am from a young girl completely traumatised by the experience. My friend and I flew to Bangkok in the morning and found her in the Mcdonalds near Nana plaza in a shirt and bikini bottoms. We had to drive her back to CM because she refused to go back for her belongings. She cried for the entire journey.

Not every girl is tough enough or lucky enough to get away that easily. My friends wife had a few choice words for her mother who really didn't care and was angry we had rescued her.

Of course it will be convenient for most to live in denial about the life trauma these girls endure, after all they are good actresses.

The acceptance of prostitution on the level it exists in this country is a serious indication of both the lack of parental care in Thailand at a fundamental level in the provinces (where most of these girls originate) and the sociopathic indifference that a certain section of expats and visitors display towards young women who wouldn't give them the time of day under normal circumstances.

Of course this is TV so I await the considered and measured response :-P

The sexpat problem is and has been here for a long time. But it is careless for you to single them out when hundreds of thousands are out there for only Thai bar and businesses. They are there for their own personal needs be it family, friends, or a chance to meet a perspective hubby. Many do it for their families needs without regard for themselves and there are some who do it to repay a debt. Yet, if offered a chance to escape and look for a real job they would not. As for those young girls supposedly "rescued"? Unless they were chained to the bed they had a choice. Maybe they were mislead in the beginning and then chained.

[Tony125]

OH I forgot to mention if you think brothels (not the same as regular bars) don't kidnap or trick girls from Thaialnd ,Laos ect and force them to work at the brothels you only have to look at the Thai fishing industry which has been caught using slave labor (unpaid workers ) from Burma Cambodia ect who are forced to work on the boats. That is why Thailand remains on Tier 3 of the Human Trafficking report because of forced unpaid slave labor on fishing vessels and forced unpaid sex workers at brothels. Brothels are not the same as bars where most farangs hang and the girls can come and go as they please. These places are usually visited by local Thai and the girls cannot leave.

A number of years ago in Pattaya 2 high school girls 15--16 dissapeared on way to school. A few weeks later a Thai Policeman was visiting a brothel near the border and recognised the 2 girls, he drew his weapon said these girls were reported kidnapped and took them back to Pattaya.

[Nobb]

Maybe the USA was right at keeping Thailand at the tier 3 level for Trafficking people!

[smotherb]

Inactive post my gosh, wish they'd been transferred to an inactive paycheck.

They may be, but they are still being investigated. This is standard procedure for most police, government, and military departments, even in the uk.

[bheard]

I'm getting a little skeptical about this "tansferred" terminology.

I asume it is a mechanism to shut the press up for a while till the people doing the transferring are comfortable and the transferees can be quietly be re-transferred back to their original locations, and of course, re-instituting the money supply to the people who did the transferring . . .

Or am I just being cynical? phhhhtttt.

[smotherb]

brewsterbudgen said, “No such thing as "consent" if she's under 18 and it's prostitution.”

Ages of consent for sexual activity vary depending upon the country—in Africa the age of sexual consent is as low as 12; in Asia, South America and Europe it is as low as 14; in North America, as low as 16; in Australia as low as 16.

In Thailand, the age of consent, at least according to TV's Somsak lawyer, Posted 2015-01-06 16:21:08. "15 with a caveat. If under 18 and the act is regretted later, then the child or his/her parents can have the offender charged. So in all practicality 18 becomes the age of consent."

Which may be the reason all the girls claim to be trafficked; instead of not regretting it.

I find fault with the retroactive aspect of this law, but that is for another discussion.

[Jimlove]

what's this 'inactive posts' BS? anyway very best wishes for those girls locked into a life of misery

Chances are those girls are ruing being caught by the police. They were not slaves, and they were earning money.

Sad situation, yes. But "traficked"...I doubt it.

You really have a thing with underage children and sex uhhh ...

Lets hear what facts you have that the rest of us havent read ...

No doubt the US decision putting Thailand on Tier 3 was correct ...

[Travelman868]

Officials transferred after nine Lao teenagers are rescued

Jirasak Wongkhamjan

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- NONG KHAI'S Tha Bo District deputy chief and five senior officers from Tha Bo Police Station were transferred yesterday following the Tuesday night rescue of nine Laotian girls aged 16 to 19 from two restaurants.

Rawichai Paritpahol has been transferred to an inactive post at the city hall, while provincial governor Suchat Noppawan has set up a fact-finding panel to investigate the official's alleged negligence in allowing such a crime to occur in the district.

The five officers Pol Colonel Somchai Sanguansakpakdee, Pol Lt-Colonel Thansamai Phromsit, Pol Lt-Colonel Ratchapong Artkaew, Pol Lt-Colonel Anant Supanpasat and Pol Major Suriya Taothong were to report for their new positions at the provincial police operation centre later yesterday.

The owner of the Pulsap karaoke bar, Sompit Dongluang, 41, was arrested and her six Laotian employees were rescued.

In Sri Chiangmai district, KS restaurant owner Kosol Uppahad, 60, and his three Laotian employees were rescued.

A special task team of Nong Khai-based Interior officials launched raids after the provincial Dhamrongtham Centre received complaints of prostitution and human trafficking.

Officials collected the victims' personal information and checked their bone mass to determine their actual age before pressing a human-trafficking charge against Sompit and a charge of employing minors against Kosol.

A 17-year-old Laotian waitress at Pulsap said she had worked at the bar for two months for a daily wage of Bt300 and occasionally served as a sex worker.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Officials-transferred-after-nine-Lao-teenagers-are-30265532.html

-- The Nation 2015-07-30

The girl was paid 300 baht per day, so not a slave. She sometimes worked as a sex worker, so when the opportunity was there, she took it and made a little more money.

So this is normal. It is not people trafficking. While I do understand that trafficking goes on it is not common with the over 16's. The people who own the bars do not want to run prisons

when there are so many willing workers.

It seems to me that Thailand is reacting to pressure from the USA and as usual the Americans do not have much of an idea .

[Tony125]

Officials transferred after nine Lao teenagers are rescued

Jirasak Wongkhamjan

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- NONG KHAI'S Tha Bo District deputy chief and five senior officers from Tha Bo Police Station were transferred yesterday following the Tuesday night rescue of nine Laotian girls aged 16 to 19 from two restaurants.

Rawichai Paritpahol has been transferred to an inactive post at the city hall, while provincial governor Suchat Noppawan has set up a fact-finding panel to investigate the official's alleged negligence in allowing such a crime to occur in the district.

The five officers Pol Colonel Somchai Sanguansakpakdee, Pol Lt-Colonel Thansamai Phromsit, Pol Lt-Colonel Ratchapong Artkaew, Pol Lt-Colonel Anant Supanpasat and Pol Major Suriya Taothong were to report for their new positions at the provincial police operation centre later yesterday.

The owner of the Pulsap karaoke bar, Sompit Dongluang, 41, was arrested and her six Laotian employees were rescued.

In Sri Chiangmai district, KS restaurant owner Kosol Uppahad, 60, and his three Laotian employees were rescued.

A special task team of Nong Khai-based Interior officials launched raids after the provincial Dhamrongtham Centre received complaints of prostitution and human trafficking.

Officials collected the victims' personal information and checked their bone mass to determine their actual age before pressing a human-trafficking charge against Sompit and a charge of employing minors against Kosol.

A 17-year-old Laotian waitress at Pulsap said she had worked at the bar for two months for a daily wage of Bt300 and occasionally served as a sex worker.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Officials-transferred-after-nine-Lao-teenagers-are-30265532.html

-- The Nation 2015-07-30

The girl was paid 300 baht per day, so not a slave. She sometimes worked as a sex worker, so when the opportunity was there, she took it and made a little more money.

So this is normal. It is not people trafficking. While I do understand that trafficking goes on it is not common with the over 16's. The people who own the bars do not want to run prisons

when there are so many willing workers.

It seems to me that Thailand is reacting to pressure from the USA and as usual the Americans do not have much of an idea .

Evem in the case where the girl was not as you say forced because she made some money what is Thai law on the subject? For paid sex a girl must be 18 years of age or older and I am sure your aware if a citizen of USA, Britain or EU is caught with a girl under the age of 18 who was paid for sex they will be tried in their home country for rape as a sexual predator. International law could care less what locals consider the age of consent for foreigners you better stay north of 18. That is one of the reasons Thailand is on teir 3 status. They can lie and say it doesn't happen but as URL below shows in this day and age its easy to prove lies.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ap-tracks-missing-slave-fishing-boats-to-papua-new-guinea/ar-AAdxpkx

And Thailand said oh we don't have slave ships guess what got caught

[WinnieTheKhwai]

The girl was paid 300 baht per day, so not a slave. She sometimes worked as a sex worker, so when the opportunity was there, she took it and made a little more money.

So this is normal. It is not people trafficking. While I do understand that trafficking goes on it is not common with the over 16's. The people who own the bars do not want to run prisons when there are so many willing workers.

It seems to me that Thailand is reacting to pressure from the USA and as usual the Americans do not have much of an idea .

Even in the case where the girl was not as you say forced because she made some money what is Thai law on the subject? For paid sex a girl must be 18 years of age or older and I am sure your aware if a citizen of USA, Britain or EU is caught with a girl under the age of 18 who was paid for sex they will be tried in their home country for rape as a sexual predator. International law could care less what locals consider the age of consent for foreigners you better stay north of 18. That is one of the reasons Thailand is on their 3 status.

I don't really see how laws in random European countries are relevant to something that occurs in Thailand and involves only Thai and Lao people. You're correct that Thai law is relevant and 18 is the minimum. Therefore the prosecution of the restaurant operator has merit. (Never mind how common it is to see 17 year olds doing sex work, ALSO in the tourist scene.)

Then, 'International Law' does not mandate an age of consent. There are of course some countries in the world with specific governmental hobbies, like ranking and rating all other countries of the world versus a set of requirements that often even their own country doesn't meet. Kind of like a finger pointing game, where all kinds of things are deemed trafficking even in case where the woman in question just bought herself a bus or plane ticket and applied for a job. And then in return all kinds of other people and groups like to point fingers the other way, for example at the exceptionally large number of people that the USA kills without trial or due process, be it police killings at home or drone attacks anywhere in the world.

It's all not very fruitful but I guess it keeps a lot of people employed.

As an aside, if I was Prayut I'd go find a couple cases of some Americans ending up with a 17 year old somewhere in BKK, Phuket or Pattaya. Just for the easy (and irrelevant, but whatever) public relations score. It's really not that hard. Would be even better if they were US government or military personnel, which still wouldn't be all that difficult.

Edited July 31, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[NanLaew]

Does that answer your fatuous question NanLaew?

... Of course this is TV so I await the considered and measured response :-P

[drgoon]

Hey, guy on the right....when you're posing for a photo, you're supposed to be looking with interest at what the other guys are looking with interest.

And none of them are pointing.......