Cops rescue 8 Vietnamese from prostitution in Thailand

2009/08/23

BETONG (Thailand): Officials of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) rescued eight Vietnamese women from forced prostitution at a karaoke outlet in a hotel here in Yala province yesterday.

DSI deputy director-general Narat Sawetanant said officials rescued the women, aged between 17 and 21, from the Kiss Me karaoke outlet at Holiday Hill Hotel here.

DSI spokesman Pol Col Narat said the women were confined on the second floor of the karaoke outlet and forced into prostitution.DSI officials also arrested Lang Chunhui, a 46-year-old, along with a list of foreigners, three bank books and a notebook recording wage payments.

She was suspected of being a procurer at the karaoke outlet, which is believed to be a front for prostitution.

The DSI is working on sending the eight women to the Vietnamese embassy in Thailand.

Narat said the raid was launched at the request of Vietnamese police, who had approached their Thai counterparts through the Vietnamese embassy.

Vietnamese police had earlier arrested a gang of human traffickers in Vietnam and learned that Vietnamese women had been lured into prostitution in Thailand.Human traffickers kept the passports of their Vietnamese victims and forced them into prostitution.

The people who ran the karaoke outlet are believed to be Malaysians.Police are also looking for three other suspects.Narat said officials at the Lao embassy in Thailand had also asked the DSI to rescue Lao women lured into prostitution in Thailand. -- Bangkok Post