Som tum seller arrested for allegedly luring Thai women into sex work in Malaysia

Petch PetpailinPublished: 12:04, 08 March 2022| Updated: 12:04, 08 March 2022

246 1 minute read

Som tum seller arrested for allegedly luring Thai women into sex work in Malaysia

A som tum vendor in Bangkok was arrested on sex trafficking charges for allegedly luring a woman into prostitution in Malaysia. The victim had contacted the Royal Thai Embassy in Malaysia for help after she got caught up in a prostitution ring. Authorities helped send her back to Thailand.

The victim provided information to the Anti Human Trafficking Division, saying she had been captured, threatened, and forced into sex work every day to cover the transportation costs for travel to the country. After a month-long investigation, authorities trafficked down the suspect. Police arrested a 32 year old woman at her shop in Bangkok’s Pracha Uthit district where she made som tum, a spicy Thai salad made with unripe papaya. The woman allegedly confessed to finding women and luring them into sex work in Malaysia.

Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.