Pattaya Police ban prostitution on the beach

Thailand’s Tourist Police have banned sex workers from selling services on the beach in Pattaya.

Last night, Tourist Police and officers from Pattaya City Police Station headed down to Pattaya Beach and instructed the city’s ladies and ladyboys of the night to move along.

The police informed the sex workers that from now on, they are no longer permitted to stand along the beachfront to sell sex services to tourists, reports KhaoSod. If the police find them working there again, they will face heavy fines, warned Pol. Col. Somchai Thiraphatphaisarn.

The sex workers were never really permitted to find clientele at the beach since all prostitution is illegal in Thailand. However, the law is actively ignored and rarely enforced in Pattaya – famously the sex capital of the world.

Pol. Col. Somchai said the crackdown on beachfront prostitution followed orders from deputy police chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn to be more rigorous in preventing crimes against tourists.

To prevent crime against tourists, police decided to head to a place where tourists fall victim to crimes the most: Pattaya Beach. Pattaya Beach might have been voted the second most popular beach in the world but turns into a hotbed of petty crime when the sun goes down.

On the weekend, 34 year old Nagasesha Reddy Neeruganti of Indian nationality reported that his gold necklace valued at 66,000 baht was stolen on Pattaya Beach Road.

The tourist said that he and his friends were strolling along Pattaya Beach at 2am on Saturday when they were approached by ladyboys offering them sex services. As he turned around to decline their offer, one of the ladyboys snatched his necklace and fled on a motorbike.

If you see anyone selling sex services on the beach or notice any other activity that could tarnish Pattaya’s unblemished image, be sure to call the Tourist Police Hotline on 1155.