Police in Bangkok have apprehended 16 foreign women during a raid targeting suspected prostitution in a popular nightlife zone of the Thai capital.
The foreign nationals, comprising ten Tanzanian nationals, five Kenyan nationals and a Vietnamese woman, were arrested in Sukhumvit Soi 4, one of the city’s major entertainment streets, on March 20 after continued complaints from tourists and reports posted on social media.
The raid was undertaken by Lumpini Police officers, together with officers from the immigration service and Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, who said they had been conducting surveillance of the area prior to the detentions.
Police said the women had been approached tourists and were offering sexual services in public which is a violation of the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act of Thailand. Prostitution exists in a gray area of the law, but public solicitation is illegal particularly if it amounts to a public nuisance and takes place openly.
All 16 women have been charged under Section 5 of the law and were fined via administrative action prior to being handed over to Immigration Bureau officers to have their visas revoked prior to their impending deportations.
The foreign nationals are being held at the Immigration Bureau Headquarters in Suan Phlu, a section of the Bureau in Bangkok, as further proceedings in the case begin. The raid, police confirmed, is part of wider efforts to restore public order in the bustling city streets as officials seek to tackle issues with street-level solicitation which have seen a growing number of complaints in recent weeks.
The news of the detentions of the East African nationals have caused an outcry in Tanzania and Kenya where numerous citizens, mostly young women, have in the past been found engaged in sex networks abroad, which activists believe to be predominantly caused by lack of employ opportunities back home.
