Thai Princess Appointed Court Prosecutor in Pattaya

The Royal Family continues to support Pattaya and its residents and tourists as Pattaya gets a new princess to oversee its positive development. One holdover from the days when Pattaya had the reputation of a “sex tourist” destination is the continuing, but significantly reduced number of offences against abused women and children. 

An ongoing police crackdown has helped in Pattaya, but bigger firepower is needed. Hail to the Royal Family as the Crown Prince’s daughter comes to help Pattaya.

Those who are in Pattaya to abuse women and children better change their ways or leave the Kingdom because HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol is working here now to prosecute offences against women and children in Pattaya Municipal Court while offering help to victims through many foundations and UN efforts she oversees in Thailand, remarked a Pattaya Municipal Court Judge.

Her mother HRH Princess Soamsavali is well-known in Pattaya for her local support and contributions to social welfare while she lived in the royal residence on Pratamnak Hill for many years before moving to Bangkok to take care of her own Royal Projects and to support projects formerly overseen by the generation of Royals ahead of her.

An advocate of women and children’s rights with a doctoral degree from Cornell Law School in New York (Doctor of Juridical Sciences degree) HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol is a practicing lawyer turned Pattaya Prosecutor.

She is the daughter of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the only son of the King. She now resides at the Pattaya royal residence and is here to help Pattaya and the region develop further into a safe, family-oriented region where the rights of women and children are fully protected.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, known affectionately as Princess Pa, is now a Public Prosecutor at the Pattaya Prosecutor’s Office in Pattaya Municipal Court where her main assignment will be cases involving family and youth. She lives in the royal residence in Pattaya and continues her advocacy of the United Nations UNIFEM organizations campaign to stop violence against women and girls.

Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome, in an exclusive interview with the Pattaya Times said about our new Royal resident, “Pattaya is very fortunate to have HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol here to help protect the rights of women and children. Pattaya is a very progressive city. Social issues bettering the lives and protecting our residents are of the utmost importance as we move forward to improve all aspects of our city.”
The Chonburi Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police led by Police Colonel Athiwit Kamolrat, Chief of Chonburi Immigration has been operating actively under UN charter definitions of “Human Trafficking” and has raided many bars, massage parlors and even a restaurant believed to offer women against their will for prostitution which is a definition of human trafficking under the UN charter.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha is dedicated to protecting women and children from violence. We are so fortunate to have Her Royal Highness here in Pattaya working closely with the prosecution of violators of human  rights and offering help to victims through her Princess Pa Foundation and UNIFEM," said the Chonburi Immigration  Police Superintendent Pol. Col. Athiwit Kamorat.
"Since we began our police crackdown by the Chonburi Immigration Bureau on crimes involving Human Trafficking six months ago we have made six cases against Thai  citizens and four foreign citizens from Laos and Cambodia. We also have arrested 12 foreigners and 59 Thais accused of offering or having sex with under-aged boys and girls," added Police Colonel Athiwit.

Several police divisions including the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in Bangkok and Banglamung District Women and Children’s Protective Services Branch in Pattaya have been protecting children by investigating the crime of pedophilia in Pattaya by “sex tourists” and foreign residents.

A prominent Russian composer living in Pattaya, a French bar owner operating in Pattaya were arrested - as were many other foreign men since the police crackdown began six months ago - accused of having sex with children under the age of 15.

Police are using undercover foreign agents and CCTV videotaping, required at all bars in Pattaya, to catch primarily foreigners engaging in unlawful acts with Thai youth.

Many local residents believe having HRH Princess Pa in Pattaya as a Prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office and as an advocate for women’s rights worldwide in her compassionate work as Ambassador for UNIFEM will help to stop the abuse and violence against women.
Most agree that nightlife and activities adults consent to participate in are not the problem in Pattaya and add to the economy, provided safety and free will apply. 

Adult entertainment establishment areas like those in Central Pattaya (Second Road west to Beach Road and South Pattaya Road to North Pattaya Road) include Walking Street and Sois 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 13/1, 13/2, 13/3 and 13/4 (Pattaya Land and Boyz Town) which are regulated under entertainment licensing issued by the district government to each establishment will remain and continue to offer relaxation and fun to customers provided there is no illegal activity, authorities say.

“Women have the right to decide for themselves what they want to do and what they don’t want to do. Pattaya is a great place for meeting women and having fun and it always will be,” said Pattaya resident Mark Turner from Australia.

Earlier this month, more than 10,000 people gathered to support HRH Princess Pa’s efforts to protect women’s rights at a “Say No to Violence Against Women” awareness campaign held on Beach Road, near where many downtrodden women are known to be prostituting themselves on the beach front.

This major event was organized with the support of Pattaya City. It is hoped that women who feel trapped into prostitution or abusive and violent relationships will see they have support to change their situation.

Word of the Princess’s appointment to Pattaya Court got out late last year and a real campaign to clean up problems began.  Knowing that police had some “teeth” to help assure convictions led to a number of arrests and police operations. Many other organizations are helping to complete the transformation of Pattaya.

One international NGO called Destiny Rescue has been in Pattaya on several occasions. Destiny Rescue has undercover teams that regularly go into brothels and red-light districts looking for and rescuing children that are being sexually exploited.

“Operated by foreigners and Thais, Destiny Rescue Thailand is based in Chiang Rai, but we go all over Thailand to help kids escape abusive situations.  A significant percent of all prostitutes are from poor hilltribe villages scattered throughout Thailand. Young women aged 8 to 15 have little or no education, therefore they have no real job prospects that will bring in a decent income. It is estimated that there are 800,000 young prostitutes in Thailand. For more information please go to www.destinyrescue.org,” said Tony Kirwan one of the leaders of the Thailand Chapter of Destiny Rescue.

The new Pattaya Police Chief Colonel Nantawoot is helping by focusing on drug usage, sales and distribution. Yaba, Ice and other amphetamines are the biggest problem but Viagra and Cialis abuse is also of concern. The Chief believes that by suppressing drug crimes which are at the core of many other crimes, assaults on women and child abuse will also be reduced.
Now, with her acceptance of a Prosecutor’s position in the Pattaya Municipal Court HRH Princess Pa will be a prosecutor of people in Pattaya who are charged with causing violence or harm to women and children.




HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol receives a prestigious award from UNIFEM Deputy Executive Director for her work on ending violence against women. (Photo: UNIFEM)




Princess HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol is the ambassador for UNIFEM and often speaks publicly about issues concerning protection of women and children.

SEE RELATED STORY PAGE A3 OF THE LATEST PATTAYA TIMES OR http://pattaya-times.com/a6023-hrh-princess-bajrakitiyabha-using-her-skills-to-help-pattaya