More about the Police Crackdown on Foreign Operated Sex Bars

EDITOR”S COMMENT: Please note in the recent breaking news in the Pattaya Times newspaper, on www.pattaya-times.com  and leading websites about Thailand that this action detailed in the published article "Police Crackdown on Foreign Owned Sex Bars" is scheduled to begin February 15 or before and targets gay bars, beer bars and gogos with "bar fines" and "short time rooms" in Pattaya. Bars with children and drugs are the top targets.

This is the biggest story on the web about Thailand with more than one million hits on combined websites where it is posted worldwide so we, as the ones who broke the news, want everyone to know the facts. All webmasters are allowed to link to our articles or even reprint them provided Pattaya Times newspaper is credited for the stories and our link http://pattaya-times.com is added to their website.

PAPPA Co., Ltd. Legal Services Division, mentioned in the first article, which we own in addition to shares of Pattaya Times Media Corp. Co., Ltd., does not want to make money from this police crackdown that is WHY we announced it in advance to make sure foreigners are not caught up in the raids mistaken for bad guys.

If PAPPA Co., Ltd. Legal Services Division wanted to make money they would have kept this to themselves without warning the public and waited for the phones to ring when foreigners were in trouble. Lawyers and paralegals at PAPPA Co., Ltd. Legal Services Division have kept more than 4,000 foreigners in Thailand out of jail and civil court in the last 12 years. PAPPA Co., Ltd. Legal Services Division believes prevention is better than the cure.

The reason Drew Noyes is quoted three different ways in prominent positions in the article is to let everyone know how serious this crackdown could be and because we could not quote anonymous Thai police officials who are sensitive to the inequalities foreigners are shown and want to help.

Our Managing Director, Drew Noyes, is an American and says, "We foreigners living in Thailand all have to help each other so we don't have problems in our new country. And, for those of you who don't know me, just do an internet search on the social, charitable and professional work I have done and so have many other foreigners who are listed in "The Pattaya Times Most Influential People in Pattaya for the Last 10 Years.”

Drew added, “It’s important to all foreigners that Thais know good foreigners so they don’t treat us like second class citizens. The more respect they give some of us the more they will like all of us.  The more trouble they have from some of us the more they won’t like all of us. Roger that?"

The upside is maybe this will lead to zoning as Pattaya is quickly becoming the destination of choice for young families and couples as never before.  The city needs the tourist income and we need more foreign families to relocate in Thailand as our foreign population- 90% of who are over 50 and here on retirement visas- is aging.

Paris, London, Amsterdam, Las Vegas, Copenhagen and Manila all have famous adult nightlife and also cater to families and couples. Pattaya can do both, too.

If foreign investors in bars simply instruct their staff to tell police - if they are raided - that the owner and manager are Thai, and if the foreigner is not in the bar drawing attention to himself, then he won't have any trouble.

The reason the article about legalizing prostitution is on the front page of www.pattaya-times.com along with the Police Crackdown on Foreign Owned Sex Bars article is because it is possible after the crackdown either zoning of adult entertainment or legalization of some form of prostitution will follow in the next year or so since many Thai politicians see the merits in either or both as stated in that article.

Please leave any comments on our website below the article.

Thank you,

Wanrapa Boonsu
Editor, Pattaya Times Newspaper