Bangkok brothels accused of ‘sinking’ the city by siphoning water for soapy massages

THAI police are checking dozens of Bangkok’s “mega-brothels” to see if they are illegally siphoning off groundwater for “soapy massages”, amid suspicions that it may be contributing to the city gradually sinking.

The crackdown was launched after a trafficking raid on the Victoria’s Secret massage parlour found under-age sex workers, a ledger of bribes and evidence that the venue was stealing groundwater to dodge utility bills.

Environmental officials say the illegal tapping of water contributes to the sinking of Bangkok, which is a low-lying city by the Chaophraya river.

More than 40 “soapy massage” parlours – huge brothels with private bathrooms where customers receive sexual services – are being inspected.

“Today we will…examine the water quality of each room we will go inside,” Suwat Inthasit, deputy commander of the Thai capital’s environment crime division, told reporters.

The media briefing was given before he led a raid on the Embassy Entertain massage parlour in a Bangkok district notorious for its smutty nightlife. “We suspect they have illegally used groundwater,” he said.

Environmental officers can test the water to determine if it is from a legitimate piped source or illegally taken from the ground.

Experts have warned that parts of Bangkok could be submerged by 2030, chiefly due to rising sea levels and the draining of groundwater in the capital’s swampy soil.

The practice of stealing water exploded during the city’s rapid development several decades ago.

Efforts in recent years to regulate groundwater use have drastically slowed the city’s sinking rate from a peak of around 4in a year in the late Seventies. However, the massage parlours’ breach of regulations has revealed yet another way that the notorious venues fail to be above board.

Although prostitution is illegal in Thailand, it is widely tolerated and openly practised. Bribes and loopholes keep the lucrative industry afloat with police largely turning a blind eye unless brothels are suspected of employing under-age or trafficked sex workers.