'Sin City' Pattaya tries to stay ahead of junta
Sin City is nicknamed in English, in Dutch we would say 'Pool of destruction' or the Sodom and Gomorra of Thailand. The authorities in Pattaya want to put an end to that dubious reputation before the junta starts pulling the strings in the city.
So Gam, a slender and petite ladyboy, who is used to streetwalking on the City Beach Road, spends every night at the police station. Paying a fine of 100 or 500 baht, as before, and immediately standing outside again, is no longer an option. She is only released the next morning and then the chance to earn some more money is gone.
Sandy tells the same story. She's been in the business for three years. Until recently she never experienced police raids, but now the police hunt soliciting ladyboys and prostitutes almost every night on the Walking Street and Beach Road. Life is hard enough already. I can't imagine what it will be like when the NCPO comes to town,' she says.
A police officer tells Bangkok Post that it is difficult to arrest the ladies for soliciting. The sex worker and client must then be caught negotiating the price. So the police pick them up and they spend the night at the police station instead of a police cell.
Ladyboy Som says that foreigners and police volunteers are now also trapping them by posing as customers. When customer and sex worker agree on the price, the so-called customer reveals himself and arrests the other.
Thitiyanun Nakpor, the director of Sisters, a health center for transgender people, took a look at Walking Street and the police station last week. She found about a hundred ladyboys in the office. As an explanation, the police officer on duty gave: 'It is the policy of the NCPO. They gave the order and we carry it out.'
The night she came to see, the ladyboys were lucky. After their names were recorded and fingerprints taken, they were allowed back onto the streets. 'If they have to come there every evening, it will bother them quite a bit,' says Thitiyanun.
From sin city to friendly city
The new head of the Pattaya City Police, Suppatee Boonkrong, has high hopes for the fight against all that is dirty and dirty in the city. “I want to completely change the image of Pattaya: from sin city to a city in which it is pleasant to linger. Safety is our first concern. We're trying to bring them back to the city.'
He already claims success. The number of reports of thefts has decreased since police patrols started apprehending bag snatchers; some 20 to 30 arrests are made every night.
Suppatee says the police are short handed. That's why she gets help from volunteers at night. They are not allowed to make arrests, but they can help gather evidence.
The officers have been instructed by their boss to make more arrests than last year. Thitiyahun's Sisters says she heard from a police officer that they have to arrest 100 sex workers every night.
But Suppatee denies that a target has been set and he also denies that the police selectively hunt transgender people. “We will arrest anyone who is found to be offering sex for money. It's a coincidence that ladyboys are the largest group we keep.'
The fight against beach chairs and umbrellas
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh wants to prevent the NCPO from taking over the situation, as happened in Hua Hin and Phuket. Pattaya wants to fend for itself. At the top of the wish list is the regulation of the rental of beach chairs and umbrellas.
These are the rules: The landlords have a maximum of 7 by 7 meters at their disposal, rentals are only allowed between 7 am and 18.30 pm, after which chairs and umbrellas must be stored and cooking is not allowed on the beach.
2,7 landlords work on the 217 kilometer long beach of Pattaya and 467 on the beach of Jomtien. Ronakit: 'None of them follows our strict rules.' The inspection teams sent out by the council were scorned by the landlords, but now threatened with soldiers, they are beginning to back down.
Dum, one of them: 'I follow the rules very closely, because I'm afraid the NCPO will come and clean up the beach like they did in Phuket and Hua Hin. I don't have a backup plan. This is all I have.'
(Source: Bangkok Post, August 31, 2014)
Great action from Pattaya.
And rightly so, leave these black workers alone
pay taxes on what they do
earn daily!
A foreigner pays monthly here
in Thailand more tax than the average
Thai!
Everything we buy here every month,
and/or pay., is 7% barrel up!
So tackle those thai undeclared workers
in Pattaya… or rather…”pool of destruction”.
What matters is that there is a limit to the number of chairs and parasol on the leased spot. The rent includes a piece of tax, but whether it will ever flow into the state coffers is highly questionable. The point is that we can all walk more comfortably on the beach, without it
tripping over scattered chairs. Now to deal with the endless stream of sellers. Also wear a vest like the massage ladies / gentlemen, so that it is clear that they have paid for a license.
By the way, I gladly pay 7% VAT here instead of 21% in the Netherlands
Hans, what a nasty reaction from you. Everyone, Thais and foreigners, white or black workers, pays that 7% VAT (VAT). If a “foreigner” would pay more tax, it is because he spends more. Pattaya was once a sleepy fishing village until the US military came to take a leave of absence. In their wake have come all those millions of tourists who have made Pattaya what it is today. Until about ten years ago, mainly middle-aged tourists, but then the youngsters also discovered this Thai paradise. With them also flight loads of Russians, Arabs and Chinese, who still have a different way of vacationing than the Europeans, Americans and Aussies. To call Pattaya “Pool of Perdition” is going too far for me. Some (people who pinch themselves in the dark or who don't get the chance to change their beacons?) also call the red light district in Amsterdam, also a very large tourist attraction. Crime, nowadays in Pattaya also often committed by foreigners (eg skimming), must of course be combated. The ladies, gentlemen, ladyboys and transvestites, who have pleased so many tourists and thus accounted for a very large part of Pattaya's growth, are now in danger of becoming victims and being swept into the trash. The beach chair rental companies suddenly seem to be the clinchers. These people work hard day in and day out, pay a considerable rent for that piece of sand and regularly have to invest in new chairs and umbrellas. 30 Bath produces such a chair with a parasol and that is often the case, because almost all those Russians buy their drinks at 7/11. Not everyone has to love Pattaya, but yes, nobody forces you to spend your holiday there, there are hundreds of other places on the Thai coast where you can go. Live and let live, respect everyone and don't point fingers!
The picture shown could have come from the gay parade in Amsterdam.
So why always point the finger at Pattaya?
Indeed, lately there has been stricter control of sex workers, drugs and loan sharks in Pattaya
and environment, but this has more to do with the increasing violence, aggression and robberies where now
great attention will be paid to it. Thailand as a holiday destination will have to be put back on the map.
Regards,
Lodewijk
Pattaya is always portrayed as the sinkhole of the world. Fine with me because it is therefore still somewhat manageable in terms of tourist flow and it keeps all those fussy good families away. Why there always has to be a witch hunt on everything that has to do with sex is a mystery to me. Without sex, none of us would be walking this planet. Sex discharges the surpluses of testosterone that otherwise give rise to all kinds of discomfort. Who is bothered by what two people do together, usually in the privacy of a home or hotel room. Perhaps jealousy plays a role or the fear of temptation. In Amsterdam they also slaughter the goose with the golden eggs, because everyone asks about the Red light district, which is starting to look more and more like a museum without paintings.
If they want to make Pattaya more pleasant, they should start by clearing the city of Russians with their rudeness and anti-social behaviour. Since that is not going to happen, it would be better not to do anything at all. This is often the case when governments feel they should get involved in something.
Pattaya of its sex image. Scandinavian project developers are building real residential towers full of holiday apartments for couples and families. The largest water park in Asia is being built and once Neckermann (for example) flies there with whole loads of families, they will soon realize that a Neckermann tourist leaves more money in 2 weeks than we do in 2 months. Project developers see Pattaya as the hotspot of Asia, but of course they want the city to adapt to their wishes. Open prostitution does not fit their image.
Yes Hajo, you will undoubtedly be right about those real estate developers, they want to raise as much money as possible by developing more and more projects. Personally, I think it will turn out to be a huge bubble in the long run. I can't substantiate it scientifically, but I wouldn't dare put my hand in the fire with the claim that an average "Neckermann family" spends more money in an all-inclusive resort than a single 40+ person during his holiday in Pattaya. The local middle class seems to me anyway better off with the adventurous holidaymaker over 40. Prostitution will never be eradicated, at most you can move it. Now I certainly do not suggest that all those 40+ people (exclusively) go to Pattaya for that prostitution. By the way, prostitution is also a loaded word. There are plenty of bar ladies who only pay attention and a listening ear to the clientele, an occasional kiss and a pat and the customer is already very happy. The future will show how Pattaya will fare.
Moderator: please don't chat.
As a resident of Jomtien I can only applaud this finally I would say hopefully it is
done with these abuses and as mentioned earlier here everyone is equal before the law
and let everyone pay taxes too,
By the way, these are millions that the Thai government misses every year
Greetings Chris
Dear Chrisje,
Sex tourism in Thailand has existed for 40 years (since the Vietnam war), despite the fact that prostitution is prohibited here!!!!
Billions have already been made from this, as a result of which women and children have survived.
And now suddenly the dots are being put on the i.
And there are still many beautiful places on this globe to live.
Greetings, Gino.