Thailand: Update to THA32269.E of 13 August 1999 on organized crime activities in Thailand; state protection available to victims of organized crime, especially victims of forced prostitution; the effectiveness of police efforts to combat organized crime (2000-2003)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Ottawa |
| Publication Date | 25 August 2003 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | THA41864.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Thailand: Update to THA32269.E of 13 August 1999 on organized crime activities in Thailand; state protection available to victims of organized crime, especially victims of forced prostitution; the effectiveness of police efforts to combat organized crime (2000-2003), 25 August 2003, THA41864.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/485ba87f2d.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to Khachadpai Buruspatana, head of Thailand's National Security Council, "'more and more international crime syndicates are basing themselves in Thailand'" (CSM 27 Dec. 2000). Organized crime's activities in Thailand, and Bangkok in particular, include the trafficking of drugs, people and arms; the production of counterfeit money and documents; and credit card fraud, diesel smuggling, illegal gambling and prostitution (ibid.; Asiaweek 29 Jan. 1999; BP 5 Apr. 2000; UNAFEI Oct. 2002, 601-603). A Singapore-based research institute estimates that this underground economy reportedly generates revenues equivalent to 20 per cent of the country's Gross National Product (CSM 27 Dec. 2000), while a Thai Senate committee report states that the sex trade alone employs an estimated 200,000 people, of which approximately 30,000 are minors (BP 10 Oct. 2002).
Under the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act implemented by Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa in 1996, any person involved in the sex trade can be punished with a fine, a jail term or the death penalty (in the case of a murder having been committed) (ibid. 20 July 2003). The Bangkok Post reported that the new law shifted the previous legal perspective of sex workers as criminals to a view of them as victims of the sex trade (9 Nov. 2000). Accordingly, there were several significant changes made to the old prostitution law:
Sex workers over the age of 18 are no longer subject to arrest. The loitering law was abrogated. ...
Sex workers under 18 are entitled to receive assistance with occupational training. Importantly, the new law says people who have sex with prostitutes under 18 must be arrested. If the girls are under 15, the customers are guilty of rape and subject to severe legal penalty (BP 9 Nov. 2000).
Thailand also passed the Prevention and Suppression of the Trafficking in Women and Children Act in 1997 (The Nation 30 Mar. 2000). Since its enactment, the government has been working with non-governmental and international organizations to ensure that victims of trafficking receive shelter and are safely returned to their country of origin (Trafficking in Persons 5 June 2002). Other joint initiatives to protect victims of the sex trade include the following:
In-kind assistance is provided to NGOs that work with trafficking victims and limited services, such as counseling, food, and medical care, are available. In terms of prevention, the government has entered into cooperative agreements with industry leaders to promote employment of girls and women outside the sex industry. Police monitor migration patterns and deny departure to suspected trafficking victims. In coordination with NGOs and international organizations, the government has created a working group to combat trafficking in women and children to improve interagency coordination, build law enforcement capacity and draft legislation (ibid.).
However, despite these efforts, several sources mention that in practice the laws are largely ineffective (ibid.; BP 5 Apr. 2000; ibid. 11 Nov. 2001). A Bangkok-based commentator writing in 2000 notes that, despite the new prostitution law, Thai police continue to arrest women on the previous grounds of loitering (BP 9 Nov. 2000). In a statement to the Bangkok Post, the executive director of the Thailand Criminal Law Institute said that the commercial sexual exploitation of children persists "because of ineffective law enforcement and a failure to go after the masterminds of the trade" (11 Nov. 2001). While conducting a study on Thailand's underground economy, several economics professors at Chulalongkorn University alleged that businessmen who are engaged in illegal operations are often protected from punishment by "'powerful figures in the bureaucracy, military, police and politics'" (Asiaweek 29 Jan. 1999).
Although a Bangkok Post article reported the rescue of four women who were being held against their will in a Thai brothel, the same article mentions that most women are not so fortunate (BP 5 Apr. 2000). According to the report,
many [women] await help which may never come for the simple reason that their plight has not been brought to the attention of authorities. Or, worse, the police do not and never will bother to look into the prostitution problem until they receive a directive from someone on high in the corridors of power (ibid.).
Chuwit Kamolvisit, known as the "'king of commercial sex'" because he owns and operates several well-known massage parlours, alleges that there is widespread corruption among police officers in Thailand (Asia Times Online 28 July 2003; BP 27 July 2003; SCMP 3 Aug. 2003). Arrested in 2003 for ordering the demolition of several small shops in order to make way for a more profitable business and also for enlisting underage girls in prostitution (BP 27 July 2003), Chuwit was reportedly "furious at being betrayed by men [police] he had made extremely wealthy and whom he paid to protect him" (SCMP 3 Aug. 2003). Chuwit then publicly revealed that he had paid Bangkok policemen 12 million baht (US$287,000) per month in protection fee[s] (Asia Times Online 28 July 2003). As early as 2000, the Bangkok Post was reporting that
it is common knowledge how the police co-operate with illegal businesses such as drug and women trafficking; the higher the legal penalties, the bigger the suay, or protection fee, demanded (9 Nov. 2000).
The 5 June 2002 Trafficking in Persons Report, released by the United States Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, adds that "police involvement in facilitating the movement of trafficking victims, accepting bribes and owning brothels seriously hinders law enforcement."
With respect to organized crime in Thailand more generally, a 27 December 2000 Christian Science Monitor article mentions that corruption among Thai police and a strong, local illegal economy creates a fertile environment for organized crime's activities to take place. For a brief overview of transnational organized crime activities and crime prevention in Thailand, please consult the attached article taken from the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute's 2000 report on crime prevention.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Asia Times Online [Hong Kong]. 28 July 2003. Marwaan Macan-Markar. "Thai Sex Tycoon Rubs Cops the Wrong Way." (Dialog)
Asiaweek. 29 January 1999. Julian Gearing. "Shady Business: The Many Tentacles of Thailand's Illegal Economy, and How They Hurt the Country."
Bangkok Post (BP). 27 July 2003. Tunya Sukpanich, Prasong Charasdamrong and Surath Jinakul. "Erotic Playgrounds: Buying Off the Law." (Dialog)
_____. 20 July 2003. Supradit Kanwanich. "Selling Sex: What the Law Says."
_____. 10 October 2002. Anjira Assavanonda. "Tackle Social Stigma First, Seminar Told."
_____. 11 November 2001. Poona Antaseeda. "Child Prostitution: How Poverty, Greed and Ignorance Conspire to Turn Youthful Hope into Living Hell."
_____. 9 November 2000. Sanitsuda Ekachai. "New Laws Fail to Change Old Ways."
_____. 5 April 2000. "Laws Mean Nothing Until Acted Upon."
Christian Science Monitor (CSM) [Boston]. 27 December 2000. Joshua Kurlantzick. "Organized Crime Takes Root in Bangkok."
The Nation [Bangkok]. 30 March 2000. "Thailand: Laws Must Help Victims of Human Trafficking." (Stop-traffic List Serve 11 July 2000)
South China Morning Post (SCMP) [Hong Kong]. 3 August 2003. Jason Gagliardi. "Dead Man Walking..." (Dialog)
Trafficking in Persons Report. 5 June 2002. United States Department of State. Washington, DC.
United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI). October 2002. Series No. 59. Sittipong Tanyapongpruch. "Transnational Organized Crime in Thailand." Annual Report for 2000 and Resource Material.
Additional Sources Consulted
Dialog
IRB Databases
Attachment
United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI). October 2002. Series No. 59. Sittipong Tanyapongpruch. "Transnational Organized Crime in Thailand." Annual Report for 2000 and Resource Material.
