Crackdown on underage prostitution, teen Thai pimp arrested

Children and Women Protection Sub-Division and Chana Songkram Police Station officers swooped on an underage prostitution racket and arrested a 19 year old pimp as she accompanied two underage sex workers to a hotel in Bangkok.

The teenage pimp, Rapheporn, was arrested on Wednesday, February 7, at the hotel on Prachathipatai Road in the Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok, and two underage sex workers were rescued as the victims.

Officers received a tip-off from two police spies that Rapheporn was offering sex and entertainment services through the LINE application. Officers then asked the spies to pose as customers and contact Rapheporn that they wanted two girls to entertain them at the hotel.

Rapheporn arrived at the hotel with two girls aged 16 years old at about 9.30pm and asked the police spies to pay her 3,500 baht for the girls before using the service. The spies transferred the money to her via a mobile phone application.

The conversation over LINE and the money transfer became vital evidence that led police to arrest Rapheporn at the hotel.

Rapheporn confessed to procuring young girls to work as party entertainers and sometimes sex workers and providing them with jobs. She charged customers 1,750 baht for each girl and kept 200 baht commission for herself.

Rapheporn faces four charges including:

• Section 6 of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act: seeking benefit from prostitution involving persons over 15 years of age but under 18 years of age. The penalty is six to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of 600,000 to 1.5 million baht.
• Section 317 of the Criminal Law: taking children aged under 15 years old from their parents. The penalty will be imprisonment from three to 15 years and a fine from 6,000 to 30,000 baht.
• Section 282 of the Criminal Law: procuring, luring, or taking away any person to satisfy the desire of others even if that person agrees. The penalty will be imprisonment from one to 10 years and a fine from 2,000 to 200,000 baht.
• Section 26(5) of the Child Protection Act: forcing, threatening, inducing, encouraging, or allowing children to behave inappropriately or perform obscene acts. The penalty will be imprisonment of up to three months, a fine of up to 30,000 baht, or both.

In related news, the arrest of another young pimp was reported just last month when a 19 year old Thai man, Peeraphat Bootcham, was arrested in Bangkok for luring a 13 year old boy into prostitution. Peeraphat advertised his services online. He charged clients 2,000 baht each time and kept 1,000 baht for himself.