3 underage sex workers rescued in raids on 2 Ang Thog karaoke joints
Ronnarong Thipsiri, head of the Department of Provincial Administration's investigation and suppression division and Sakda Bandasak, sheriff of Ang Thong’s Muang district held a press conference on Monday (October 14) to announce the results of recent raids on a karaoke restaurant and a karaoke massage parlor in Ang Thong province, which were allegedly using under-age girls as prostitutes.
“We collaborated with Damrong Dhama Center and anti-human trafficking organizations and learnt that two karaoke joints in Ang Thong were employing underage sex workers,” he said. “These were the Chil Chil Karaoke on Highway No. 3064, Pa Ngiew sub district of Muang district and Jittra Karaoke on the ground floor of a hotel in Muang district.”
During the raids, police identified 6 sex workers offering services to a group of customers. Four of these were Thai and the other two Laotians, and three were under the age of 18. The youngest worker was just 15 years old. They also found a large numbers of used condoms.
Officials arrested Somjit Phetwijit, 50, and Aphirom Pheungpracha, 36, who admitted to being the respective owners of the karaoke bars. They were charged with human trafficking, solicitation of prostitution, prostitution of an underage person, and opening entertainment facility without a license.
One of the 17-year-old sex workers of Jittra Karaoke told the press she was hired to sit and drink with clients and was paid Bt50 each time a client ordered a drink. “Clients can buy sex for Bt1,500 a time or Bt3,500 for a whole night,” she said. “They can either use massage rooms in the back or bring the girls to other hotels of their choice.”