Thai dancer and her boyfriend arrested for child prostitution

Chiang Mai police arrested a 20 year old Thai dancer and her boyfriend on charges of child prostitution. The woman alleged that dancing did not provide sufficient income, leading her to become a part-time sex worker and recruit other underage dancers into prostitution.

Anti-human trafficking organisations ZOE and the Immanuel Foundation reported the child prostitution racket to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau officers, prompting them to investigate the case further. The investigation revealed that 20 year old Jeeranan Pongsungnoen and her 23 year old boyfriend Puttipong Panyala were behind the illegal operation.

Police found that Jeeranan and Puttipong advertised sex services on social media platforms, and Jeeranan would send young girls to customers at hotels in the province.

Accordingly, police officers posed as customers and arranged to meet the young girls at a love hotel in the Padad sub-district, Mueang district, Chiang Mai yesterday, August 21. The officers paid 12,000 baht for the services.

After the meeting, Jeeranan accompanied the girls to the hotel, leading to her arrest. Jeeranan confessed to engaging in child prostitution due to a lack of income. She was working as a dancer for a Thai folk music band, but could not earn enough to cover her expenses.

Jeeranan said she turned herself into a party entertainer, offering sex services to clients. She found that the job could provide a high income, so she invited other dancers in the band to join her as sex workers. She said her boyfriend, Puttipong, was sometimes involved in sending girls to the customers.

In a related story, a 17 year old Thai girl was arrested last month for pimping other girls under 18. Police used the same trick, posing as a client and arranging a meeting at a Bangkok hotel. The suspect confessed to the illegal operation and revealed that she kept only 1,000 baht of the service fee for herself and shared the rest of over 4,000 baht with the victims.

Another operation against child prostitution took place in February at a hotel on Prachathipatai Road in Bangkok. Two 16 year old girls were rescued from prostitution.