Cops arrest parlour firm shareholder
A key shareholder in a company operating the massage parlour raided by authorities last Friday, yesterday surrendered to police and denied any involvement in the flesh trade.
Sasithorn Wirathepsuporn, 45, a key shareholder of Amarin Onsen Limited Partnership, which operates Victoria’s Secret Massage, was yesterday accompanied by her lawyer as she turned herself in to deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul at the Royal Thai Police.
Pol Gen Srivara said Ms Sasithorn denied the charge. She was one of eight people sought on arrest warrants issued by the Criminal Court yesterday.
Police did not allow Ms Sasithorn to seek bail because the charge carries severe penalties. The suspect was later handed over to Wang Thong Lang police for questioning and will be taken to the Criminal Court today with police to seek her continued detention.
Wang Thong Lang police investigators had obtained warrants for the eight from the court. All faced over 10 charges for allegedly being engaged in the sex trade, and breaching immigration law and the AntiTrafficking in Persons Act, he said.
Pol Gen Srivara said a probe indicated Ms Sasithorn held shares in over 10 companies which run massage parlours, including Victoria’s Secret Massage, in the Inthamara area and Din Daeng district. Police also worked with the Revenue Department to examine the firms’ money trails.
Investigators were examining t he remaining firms to track down other suspects in the case while evidence would also be acquired from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Department of Provincial Administration.
Last Friday, the DSI, military and local officers launched a raid on Victoria’s Secret Massage on Rama IX Road in Huai Khwang district. More than 80 women found there are believed to have been forced into prostitution.
Authorities widened the probe and later found 20 state officials including senior police were allegedly implicated in documents, found at the parlour, which could expose a human trafficking network.
Pol Gen Srivara said no arrest warrants have been issued for officers yet as police were having trouble identifying them. “I admit it is difficult to identify officers linked to the parlour because only their positions appear in those papers, not their names,” he said. “Also, the verification of the ages of the women detained at the parlour is not yet complete. The results are expected today,” he said.
He also instructed four police agencies to set up panels to probe any of their officers suspected of being embroiled in the case. They are the Central Investigation Bureau, the Tourist Police Bureau, the Metropolitan Police Bureau and the Immigration Bureau. Their officers appeared in the documents. Officers who were found linked to the racket will face disciplinary and legal action.
DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang yesterday said he was ready to sign an order to treat the matter as a special case. Additional warrants could be issued for two other shareholders. Former politician and broadcaster Chuvit Kamolvisit, who founded Victoria’s Secret Massage, will be invited to give information on the trade.
Last Friday’s raid on Victoria’s Secret Massage in Huai Khwang district by Department of Special Investigation (DSI), military and local administration officials has exposed suspected offences at the massage parlour in connection with human trafficking and prostitution, in which state officials are believed to be connected. KING-OUA LAOHONG talks to DSI deputy director-general Songsak Raksaksakul about the problem.
Could you assess the problems of human trafficking and prostitution in Thailand?
Thailand is Southeast Asia’s economic hub, so many migrants from the Mekong River basin countries come to work here.
If they are just normal labourers, the problem is small because agencies have effective measures in place. The problematic areas are human trafficking, prostitution and forced labour, where there must be prevention and suppression.
In the past, beggars from Cambodia were brought here and we succeeded in apprehending the brokers who brought the kids (from Cambodia).
Today, the number of such offences here has fallen drastically.
As for the trading of human parts, this has never taken place in Thailand, while forced labour has dropped markedly.
As for human trafficking which concerns children being forced to become prostitutes, the number of arrests and cases has climbed.
What are the key factors increasing the number of child prostitutes?
As prostitution concerns high pay and less-labour intensive work, as opposed to other forms of labour, people secretly come to Thailand to do jobs linked to human trafficking, and this includes children being lured into prostitution.
The DSI has conducted raids and made arrests in border areas with Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, as well as in Bangkok, and there were cases of children being lured or forced into prostitution.
Legal measures need to be enforced to deal with shops or business operators committing wrongdoings.
Have you ever assessed how much revenue prostitution generates?
At various massage venues, the service charge ranges from 2,000 to 10,000 baht, so each venue earns more than a million baht a day.
This could involve tens of billions of baht per year, particularly venues which also offer sex services.
Prison terms for those in violation of the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act range from one to 10 years.
The severe punishment shows we do want this problem to end.
How did the DSI step into the Victoria’s Secret Massage case?
The DSI took it up as a special case last year after an anti-human trafficking foundation told us a 12-year-old girl was lured into prostitution there.
After receiving the information, the DSI widened the probe. Over the past year, the DSI gathered evidence before seeking a warrant to search the venue. No one wanted to get involved since it concerns a huge number of people, including state officials.
However, based on the DSI’s probe, there are still various places in Bangkok similar to Victoria’s Secret.
At various massage venues, the service charge ranges from 2,000 to 10,000 baht, so each venue earns more than a million baht a day. SONGSAK RAKSAKSAKUL DSI DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL
Has the screening of women and children found to be victims of human trafficking and prostitution been concluded?
There is a legal process in place with health professionals determining whether the women are victims or not. As for the venue’s owners, they must be prosecuted for human trafficking.
Officers have widened probes and sought seven arrest warrants for Mr Boonsap, or Pa Kob, who deals with customers. Another offence concerns sex services uncovered during Friday’s raid.
As of Sunday, four females aged 18 or below were being treated as human trafficking victims. Another two were found to have been forced into prostitution. We will ask Wang Thong Lang police to transfer the case to the DSI which will treat it as a special case.
Charges will be brought against those involved.
How will you deal with police and other state officials who received discounts for massage services or got them free?
This is the police’s responsibility. When there is prostitution, questions must be raised as to whether police were aware of it. As for the names, a probe must be carried out to determine whether officers received money. Some venues provide quotas (to officials), but they do not use the services. The customer relations manager will be asked to implicate them (officers).
When we questioned the list maker and customer relations manager, they did not implicate anyone, making the job difficult.
What kind of measures will the DSI adopt to prevent and tackle human trafficking?
The Justice Ministry (which is in charge of the DSI) is responsible for suppressing graft among state officials. One of the problems with human trafficking is dereliction of duty by officials. If there is a move to prevent them getting involved in trafficking, the problem could decline.
Additionally, efforts must be made to show the importance of why human trafficking must be tackled. Trafficking is linked to the livelihoods of people in neighbouring countries. These people have low incomes and they want to seek more money by coming to work here or offering sex services illegally.
Has the DSI sought cooperation with neighbouring countries to prevent the problem?
The DSI has attended meetings with representatives from neighbouring countries in the Mekong River basin.
We have sought cooperation with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to lay out guidelines to jointly prevent human trafficking and all the countries understand Thailand.
Cooperation has taken place and is ongoing to prevent and suppress the problem through information exchange, which has so far led to people involved in human trafficking networks being arrested.