Pattaya —
Pattaya police arrested 20 foreign women for alleged illegal prostitution during a crackdown along Pattaya Beach early this morning, December 27th.
At 1:06 AM, Pattaya Police and Tourist Police conducted a joint operation to crack down on illegal prostitution along Pattaya Beach. The operation resulted in the arrest of over 20 foreign women.
The operation was launched following complaints from concerned citizens and tourists about a group of foreign women occupying spaces under trees along Pattaya Beach and allegedly selling sexual services to tourists. The citizens said these actions tarnished Pattaya as a world-class, family-friendly destination.
Officers secretly monitored the beach area and arrested the suspects, including nine Ugandan women, eight Uzbek women, two women from Madagascar, and one woman from Rwanda. Most of them were between 26 to 51 years old.
During the initial questioning, all 20 women reportedly confessed to traveling to Pattaya to engage in prostitution targeting foreign men. They were charged under Section 5 of the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act for publicly soliciting in a manner deemed offensive or disruptive.
The suspects were handed over to the Chonburi Provincial Social Development and Human Security Office for fines, after which the Chonburi Immigration will revoke their visas and deport them from the kingdom.
There were no reports of any Thai nationals arrested during the raids. This comes as the UN has recently called for Thailand to decriminalize prostitution, which has been the so-called white elephant in the room in Thailand and Pattaya for many years.
We discussed at length the current prostitution laws in Thailand earlier this year here.
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