On Tuesday night, police arrested a madam on charges of running a brothel under the guise of a massage shop that caters to gay men in downtown Muang district. Two young masseurs were also caught in the undercover operation.
The combined team of police and officials from the Department of Provincial Administration raided the Ann6999 massage shop on Chang Klan Road and arrested a transgender woman named Sri (surname not given), 56, also known by the name of Ann. She identifies herself as manager of the shop although the authorities believe she owns the business.
Narong Thipsiri, Director of the Department’s Operation Centre for Legal Enforcement, said yesterday the shop was opened as a front for a brothel for gay men. The shop was exposed in a complaint lodged with the government-run Damrongtham centre by the anti-human trafficking Ronnasit Foundation.
The foundation alleged that the shop employed teenage boys aged 18 and under to provide sexual services to customers there.
Mr Thipsiri said the brothel would contact potential clients through its Line chat application and show them pictures of the young masseurs posted in a dedicated Twitter account.
Mr Thipsiri said before the raid, an official who posed as a potential client contacted the shop and enquired about “intimate” massage services. The undercover official was given access to many nude photos of young masseurs to choose from on the Twitter account.
After arriving at the shop, the official was met by Sri and two teenage masseurs who claimed they were both 17 years of age. The official later called for the combined team to bust the place. The shop occupies a five-storey building with rooms on the third floor reserved for massage and sexual services. The masseurs normally received 1,600 baht each from customers, of which Sri took a 600 baht.
Sri has been charged with human trafficking, pocketing illegal gains from prostitution, acting as a procurer for people aged 18 and under, running a brothel, abetting, possessing pornographic materials for commercial purposes and importing pictures containing nudity for people to access.
