Contact Admin. Four girls aged under 18 were among the 13 women allegedly lured to provide sex at a guesthouse.
THAILAND - Police yesterday announced the arrest of a Thai woman suspected of human trafficking and the rescue of 13 Myanmar women - including a year-old and three girls under 18 - allegedly lured into sex work at a Ranong guesthouse.
Chonthipaporn Palosilpa, 32, who was nabbed at DD Guesthouse in tambon Khao Niwet in Muang district, faces charges of procuring a girl under 15 and others under 18 for prostitution and molestation, as well as a charge of harbouring "aliens". She denied the charges. After a tip-off from the Freeland Foundation that some Myanmar women under 18 were doing sex work in Ranong, an investigation by Anti-Human Trafficking Division AHTD police found this was taking place in the guesthouse.
So they organised a "sting" in which an undercover official agreed to buy sex from two women including the year-old girl out of 13 Myanmar women presented to him, AHTD chief Pol Maj-General Chawalit Sawaengphuet said. Upon payment, police presented themselves to arrest the suspect and rescued 13 Myanmar women and girls at the premises. Victim screening found that besides the year-old, three other girls under 18 were reportedly assaulted and forced into prostitution, while nine other Myanmar women had illegally entered the Kingdom.
Ranong Governor Cherdsak Jampates said that police would try to catch others involved in these crimes. He noted that state officials were not involved in human trafficking - but if they were, they would be severely punished. A meeting of Ranong's anti-human trafficking committee next Monday would help the authorities to get tougher in checking entertainment places to prevent and suppress human trafficking and prostitution, he said.
