Court seizes Bt3.4m from Chuwit over prostitution ring

Since this verdict is based on civil proceedings under the money laundering law, it will not have an impact on Chuwit’s political office.
Though the lower court and the subsequent appellate review ruled in Chuwit’s favour by citing his acquittal in the criminal proceedings, the high court said that under the money laundering law, the defence had the burden of proof but had failed to verify how the assets in question were amassed.
The case came to light after the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation, a women advocacy group, filed a police complaint charging that the massage parlours operated by Chuwit were a front for sex trade.
The prosecution launched separate criminal and civil proceedings against Chuwit and his holding company, Ho Pacific, which operates a number of massage parlours. The company and its subsidiaries only had Bt3.4 million left in assets by the time the case reached the court.
Some of the defence team’s key arguments are that operating a massage parlour is legitimate business, that providing massage services cannot be construed as an illicit sex trade and that the suspect had been acquitted in the criminal trial.
However, the high court ruled that there was cause to suspect the massage parlours were a front for sex trade because the company’s records show that it spent Bt112,559 on condoms in 2002 alone. Also, a number of former workers testified that they were coerced to provide sexual services. Furthermore a large number of used condoms were found at various parlours run by Chuwit.
Under the verdict, the court said it had cause to suspect that the gains had been earned illegally and hence warranted seizure. The defence, so far, has not been able to prove how the assets came into its possession.