Raid at Villa Rouge

[TotallyOz]

One of my friends called me last night to ask me to send money to help him get out of jail. He worked at Villa Rouge and failed the pee pee test. That means that he was doing some drug. I told him that I won't help as he knows I hate the use of drugs. According to him, many were arrested and went to jail. He is out today but I didn't get the specifics on how many were taken in and how much they were asked to pay. I am not interested in anyone who does yaba and will not help anyone who gets in trouble with it.

 

Does anyone know anything else about the raid last night? Was it only one bar? What were they looking for?

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in PATTAYA ONE:

 

for photos, see: http://www.pattayaone.net/news/2009/august/news_17_08_52.shtml

_____

 

Underage Employees and Drug Takers Detained During Boy Bar Raid in Soi Sunee Plaza.

 

Pattaya, August 17 [PATTAYA ONE NEWS]

 

In the early hours of Monday Morning, Police Lieutenant Jumluk from Pattaya Police Station led a team of officers on a raid of the Villa Rouge Boys Nightclub located in Soi Sunee Plaza in South Pattaya, an area notorious for underage bar workers.

 

Officers entered the premises and detained all employees and conducted a check on them. It was found that 23 employees were under the age of 18 and 35 employees failed urine tests, confirming the recent consumption of methamphetamine.

 

Khun Duanggeow aged 50, the manager of the venue was arrested and he joined the other arrestees at Pattaya Police Station. The Manager was charged with employing staff under the age of 18 and the 35 employees who failed urine tests were charged with class 1 drug consumption offences.

 

A full report of the incident will be sent to the Banglamung District Licensing Unit for their consideration.

[Guest]

Officers entered the premises and detained all employees and conducted a check on them. It was found that 23 employees were under the age of 18 and 35 employees failed urine tests, confirming the recent consumption of methamphetamine.

 

I am really shocked at this. When I was there, I did not even see 20 employees and am sure that there were not 35 or close to that number.

 

Also, it is very sad that so many failed the urine tests. That is a great percentage of the place. Could that be accurate? I doubt this number.

[payless]

Also, it is very sad that so many failed the urine tests. That is a great percentage of the place. Could that be accurate? I doubt this number.

I suspect, but have no facts, that as in other young boy bars recently raided there is a link to Ya bah and the age of the boy. I suspect these boys are given drugs and accommodation and then become dependent on that bar for their existence.The punter just sees the nice friendly cute boy but does not realize that there may be a very dark side to their existence and relationship to that bar.

It is only a theory but I think has a loud ring of truth to it.

[Guest]

I suspect, but have no facts, that as in other young boy bars recently raided there is a link to Ya bah and the age of the boy. I suspect these boys are given drugs and accommodation and then become dependent on that bar for their existence.The punter just sees the nice friendly cute boy but does not realize that there may be a very dark side to their existence and relationship to that bar. It is only a theory but I think has a loud ring of truth to it.

 

I know you are not referring to this particular bar but I hope to God this is NOT the case in any bar in Sunee!

[Gaybutton]

Could that be accurate? I doubt this number.

Beats me. My eyebrows also raised at these numbers. I can't speak to the accuracy of the numbers, but obviously there were under-age employees, employees who failed the urine test, and arrests.

 

I don't think the actual number is the important thing. I think the important thing is the fact that these things still go on, and if it's going on in one bar, then I'd say the odds are pretty good that it's going on in others. What bothers me the most is that some bars strive to make sure that none of this goes on, and when these things happen, it causes problems for the bars that are operating entirely legitimately.

 

Once again, check those ID cards and watch your valuables. Ya ba costs money and obviously there are a number of boys who are users.

[Gaybutton]

It is only a theory but I think has a loud ring of truth to it.

I think your theory is a little far fetched, but who knows? It could turn out to be that you are right. In any case, you're definitely right about the average 'punter' seeing only the friendly side of things. We don't often see the truly sinister side of it. We hear stories and rumors, but few of us ever really see it for ourselves.

[Guest tdperhs]

I don't think the actual number is the important thing.

 

I shouldn't underestimate the importance of these numbers. If there were 2 or three offenders out of forty, the problem is most likely an individual thing. But thirty-five, or twenty-five, or fifteen? There's something rotten in the State of Sunni Plaza and the stench is strongest at that bar.

 

And 23 under age? That has to be more than half. And when you consider that the under age boys are not acting as shills or waiters, or mama-sans, or bartenders, how many boys 18 and older actually got on the stage.

 

I'm not too sure Payless's theory is that far off base, especially when you consider the apathetic way these boys dance.

 

This happens too often at this location. I don't think any bar has contributed more to Sunni Plaza's reputation for sleaziness than Villa Rouge and its predecessor, Kaos I don't think this bar should be closed down; it should be burnt down.

 

And all the boys OVER 18 AND DRUG FREE sent to me for appropriate rehabilitation. Both of them.

[KhorTose]

I don't think this bar should be closed down; it should be burnt down.

 

And all the boys OVER 18 AND DRUG FREE sent to me for appropriate rehabilitation. Both of them.

 

Could not agree more and laughed my head off at your ending sentence.

[Guest Oogleman]

They should go after the owners - not just the managers.

 

Huge fines every time would soon stop this. say 250,000 a time?

[Guest]

Why not just jail the owners?

[Bob]

Why not just jail the owners?

 

That'd be fine by me - and that's what would happen in almost all modern countries.

 

And, as a special Thai sidelight, how about issuing them special uniforms - speedo-like shorts with numbers on them so they can get an adequate drift of what their underaged employees so enjoyed.

[fedssocr]

I think we all know why these places aren't shut down and why the owners don't go to jail. How many times do we talk about endemic corruption across Thai society? Supply and demand are strong market forces. And since these kids are generally not valued by their families or society they end up in places like this.

 

Hopeless people resort to what they need to do to survive. I don't know if the drug use comes first or the sex industry work comes first. But if you are a poor kid with no hope and fewer prospects it's not hard to see how you end up in a place like this.

[Guest]

And since these kids are generally not valued by their families or society they end up in places like this.

I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I have seen too many that end up working in the bars because the family sent them there when they were 14 or 15 in order to send money home to them. I think that sums up how important they are to the family. On the other side of that coin, I don't think they regard sex in the same way as we do and think it no more or no less than any other job. I may be wrong in this but it is my assumption.

 

Hopeless people resort to what they need to do to survive. I don't know if the drug use comes first or the sex industry work comes first. But if you are a poor kid with no hope and fewer prospects it's not hard to see how you end up in a place like this.

 

I think we delude ourselves when we try to pacify our minds and say they like this work. "Oh yeah, he is great. He really gets into it and loves having sex with falang." No, that is not the case the majority of the time. They need money and they provide a service. They no more enjoy serving a Falang than a boy at Domino's Pizza enjoys making his delivery. In fact, I think it is a much more personal choice.

 

Those of us that take anyone from a bar can help this cycle by actually giving a damm. We have to realize that we have a precious opportunity to help make someone's life better and their future can be changed by our actions. I know I am not able to help everyone I want but I have helped many to move on with their life. I believe in giving opportunities when I can and helping those that I feel want the help.

 

In the end, some want the help and want a new way of life and some don't. My BF takes the opportunities I give to him and propels forward.

 

A 19 year old boy at this bar was given 1500 baht from me for his birthday the night before this raid. He was one of those arrested. I think it really hit home for me what he did with the money and I have to stand back and decide what I'll do the next time someone I know has a birthday. I realize that one cannot determine the course of what happens to the money once it is freely given but I do try to make good decisions and sometimes I screw up. I can't tell you how disappointed I am in myself for trying to help this boy have a Happy Birthday.

 

Life goes on. You learn from the mistakes. You try not to get in situations that will let you repeat them. I have made many mistakes in LOS. I try to learn from them.

[Gaybutton]

I can't tell you how disappointed I am in myself for trying to help this boy have a Happy Birthday.

I agree with much of your post, but I don't agree about this part. I don't see why you should feel that way or feel any guilt whatsoever. You gave the boy some money for his birthday, which was a very nice thing to do. But you're certainly neither responsible nor in control of what he did with the money. You can't even know what he did with the money. The fact that he was arrested doesn't mean that he took the money and bought ya ba with it. He may already have had the ya ba or some friend of his may have given it to him. For all you know, the money you gave him may have gone toward room rent, sending home to mama, buying clothes, or something else.

 

You are in no way the cause of him ending up arrested. If he's on ya ba, he most likely would have ended up arrested whether you gave some money to him or not. These boys who are ya ba users manage to get it one way or another, even when they're flat broke.

 

One of the worst aspects of the ya ba is the fact that these boys are under such peer pressure. If it wasn't for that, I believe most of them would have never touched the stuff in the first place.

[Guest Patexpat]

In a conversation I had with a major bar owner a couple of weeks ago, we touched upon drugs and yaba, and he said that the drug problem was endemic amongst bar boys and he had a constant battle to try and keep his bar 'clean'.

 

It's a battle that I feel cannot be won at least in the short/medium term, but we all need to be aware of it. There is a 'dark side' to the fancy neon lights that visitors and many expats choose to ignore.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Drug users need professional help to get off the drugs, which first of all, unfortunately, has to be the desire to get off of them. Drug users will use any means to get the drugs, charm, lie, cheat or steal. While, I agree that GT should not feel guilty, I think it is a lesson learned. Rather than give a boy cash for a birthday, why not just host a party for him? As we all know, Thais love a party and will remember it longer than the drug trip.

[Guest joseph44]

 

A 19 year old boy at this bar was given 1500 baht from me for his birthday the night before this raid. He was one of those arrested. I think it really hit home for me what he did with the money and I have to stand back and decide what I'll do the next time someone I know has a birthday. I realize that one cannot determine the course of what happens to the money once it is freely given but I do try to make good decisions and sometimes I screw up. I can't tell you how disappointed I am in myself for trying to help this boy have a Happy Birthday.

 

Come on, GayThailand, stop blaming yourself. Who the h*ll could know that your THB 1,500 were (possibly) spent on drugs.

 

But about the drugs.......the statistics have proven that during the raids of the last years, just a 'few' boys were found positive on drugs-use.

And now suddenly the majority of the bar-occupation.

Have you ever seen this 'communal' drinking-pot. The bloody thing is always around the bar area and there are some straws pointing out. I don't what's in the pot, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a mix of alcohol, M150 and some drugs, to get the boys more active and exposing, because that's how mamasang and the customers would like to see them.

 

I don't visit gogo-bars very often, but in the past I always wondered why these very shy boys run around naked. It can't be the few baht they usually get for this act.

[JayBee]

A waiter from Villa Rouge -- who's not underage and passed his drug test, so had no problems in Monday's raid -- told me that on Tuesday evening the bar had seven boys left dancing.

 

There are reasons why this particular raid might have found such a high number of boys failing the pee test, other than their being intentionally drugged en masse by management, which seems a wild bit of speculation.

 

On another note, if the test detects drug use spanning previous days or even weeks (and I don't know if it does), it would seem difficult for any bar to ensure its staff will pass the tests, no matter how vigilant one might be about keeping drugs, as well as boys on drugs, off the premises.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Perhaps the bar owners could test the boys themselves and if found to have drugs in their system they would be suspended for a month. That is, if the bar owners really want the boys drug free.

[Gaybutton]

Perhaps the bar owners could test the boys themselves

That issue came up several months ago. You might recall there was a big to-do when the powers-that-be announced that bars would be closed if any staff members failed police drug tests. The bars raised holy hell about that because they said there is no way for them to be responsible for what their employees do when they're not working and it was far too expensive for them to test the employees on any kind of regular basis.

 

I don't know what became of that, but obviously the police don't close the bars when employees test positive for drugs. However, the bars maintain that drug testing their employees is far too cost prohibitive.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

This sounds like an excuse rather than a reason. There are many companies that have a zero tolerance for drugs. The markup on drinks in the bars is tremendous. They charge, on average, 100 baht for water, as an example. The same bottle of water costs them about 4-5 baht. We all know they pay the boys a pitiful salary and get a kickback from the tips the boys get, not to mention, on average, 300 baht for off fees. So, maybe, the "far fetched" story of the owners wanting the boys drugged for better performance is not so far fetched after all.

[Gaybutton]

So, maybe, the "far fetched" story of the owners wanting the boys drugged for better performance is not so far fetched after all.

I think it's near fetched, myself . . .

[Guest buckeroo2]

This sounds like an excuse rather than a reason. There are many companies that have a zero tolerance for drugs. The markup on drinks in the bars is tremendous. They charge, on average, 100 baht for water, as an example. The same bottle of water costs them about 4-5 baht. We all know they pay the boys a pitiful salary and get a kickback from the tips the boys get, not to mention, on average, 300 baht for off fees. So, maybe, the "far fetched" story of the owners wanting the boys drugged for better performance is not so far fetched after all.

I am not sure how any of the bars can stay in business. Yeah, the mark -up on drinks is exorbitant but they have a lot of overhead costs - even paying a pitiful salary to the boys adds up when you mulitply that by 20-40 boys. The BIB get their large kickbacks to look the other way - doesn't sound like they are looking the other way with Kaos. Add in leases, utilities, insurance, etc. Then look at the customer base. There are so many bars that I have been to that have less than a handful of customers. Some bars have a couple of customers at any given time. Right now the bars are suffereing big time. One waiter in BBB told me that last Thursday they had 2 customers all night in the upstairs bar. Kaos may be an exception. They have a steady customer base, but it does not compare to seasons past. Something has got to give and I am betting we will continue to see a steady stream of bars close.

BTW, I walked by Villa Rouge tonight and they were open for business. I have no idea how many boys were left to dance, but I would think if they had so many serious violations the police would have done a mandatory closure as they have done so many times in the past.

[Bob]

So, maybe, the "far fetched" story of the owners wanting the boys drugged for better performance is not so far fetched after all.

 

What's "far fetched" is even making that statement.