Suspected Child Sex Ring Uncovered in Gay Porn Busts

[TotallyOz]

Investigations into the dealings of several Thai websites have uncovered a suspected child prostitution ring operating in Thailand recently. Police discovered the illegal operations following the June arrest of an internet gaming business owner in Pattaya.

 

Thailand, the 6th of September 2010 [PDN]: Following the arrest of Mr. Traiphop Bunphasong, implicated in a Pattaya child prostitution racket, Children and Women Protection Center Police successfully uncovered a larger 'parent' operation, which had been running in Thailand for the last 10-years. Mr. Bunphasong's arrest was directly related to the later arrest of famed Russian musician Mikhail Pletnev.

 

Initially, police investigating the case of Mr. Bunphasong linked the offender with several homosexual websites (poochai69.com and dekchai.com). The websites were found to be openly selling images, videos and DVD's of explicit gay pornography including material believed to involve underage boys.

 

Progressing the case to a national level, Major General Rungsap Sunsap (Children & Women Protection Center Region 2 Deputy Commissioner) and Major General Kittiphong Ngaomuk (Police Region 2 Commissioner) begun investigations into the matters, finding that sites were operated by a Mr. Kanphon Chinchayaphorn [48] (AKA, Lung Mo, Lung Max (uncle Max)).

 

Mr. Chinchayaphorn is known to be a prominent figure in Thai gay social scene and was subsequently linked to at least seven other illegal pornographic websites (gaymorply.com, unzenzer.com, vdostation.com, gooogay.com, seeguy.com, thaiboyx.com, and loongmax.com).

 

Click here for rest of story:

http://www.pattayada...ations-stifled/

[Guest fountainhall]

I must admit to finding the report somewhat confusing. Anyone who has surfed the net in the last few years will have seen the titles dekchai.com and thaiboyx.com. On the few occasions I looked at dekchai, it seemed to be like any other Thai gay porn site - in that it had photographic material featuring more mature-looking guys whom I reckoned to be in their mid-20s - with many considerably older. It also had a personals section and a few other sections, but I could not understand them as it was all in Thai. After a while, I saw it had became a subscription site. What was on the site thereafter, I have no idea. But I never once saw anything on it in the earlier incarnation that could remotely be to do with anyone underage.

 

Having learned to mistrust what I read of such sensational stories when they first appear, I am therefore suspicious of the PDN claim that this particular site was "believed to involve underage boys." The newspaper's informants must surely know this to be fact or fiction - "believed" sounds like the usual sensationalism. I am in no position to judge, however.

 

Re the magazines, in one of the photographs, I can see a copy of Variety magazine. If I recall correctly, this was a free magazine written almost all in Thai that used to be available openly in a lot of restaurants and bars, certainly in Bangkok. The issues I saw never had nudity and certainly never featured underage children. I have never seen a copy of Max magazine, but I can just make out in the photo that it says "Free Copy". That to me implies it would be the same type of publication.

 

If these are the types of magazines involved, then this reminds me of what happened to the predecessor of Purple Dragon based the Tarntawan Place Hotel. That company was taken to court for permitting the public to see such magazines displayed in their offices, despite the fact that they were freely available all over Bangkok! Unfortunately, one of the partners of the agency who at some time in the past had had some conviction on a sex issue in another country was, I believe, a director. It was generally believed that the case was exclusively based on that fact rather than on the trumped-up charge regarding the magazines. It still ended up costing the company a huge amount in legal fees and the temporary suspension of their license.

 

Back to the article. With regard to the opening sentence, "Following the arrest of Mr. Traiphop Bunphasong, implicated in a Pattaya child prostitution racket . . . ", the editor should have reiterated what has already been made public: that this allegedly notorious mastermind of a child prostitution racket and child pornography ring is actually out on bail! Posters on this site have been unanimous in condemning anything to do with child pornography and advocating that those actually involved be locked up and the key thrown away. But what on earth are the police and the courts doing when they permit bail to an alleged "mastermind"? I don't get it! Or perhaps I do get it - and it involves rather a lot of money!

[PattayaMale]

I also remember when Utopia, a travel agency in Bangkok, at the Tartarwan(sp) hotel was shut down for arranging sex tours. Actually it just provided tours to Thailand for gay men. The evidence provided was the magazine that was a predecessor of Spice, which only had ads from the clubs in Thailand. No nude or underage models. This was porno according to the authorities.

[Moses]

I'm not sure if it is good idea to repost such news here... it isn't my business, but I'm not sure if owners want forum to be relevant to keywords like "ch**d s*x" or something like that...

 

as well: if to continue to post titles of news like title of this news is, then why to wonder if people will put in one line gays, pae**fils and ch**d molesters?

[Bob]

I also remember when Utopia, a travel agency in Bangkok, at the Tartarwan(sp) hotel was shut down for arranging sex tours.

 

I'm no promoter of Utopia but I think you have some of your information confused. Other than the magazine "Thai Guys" (which was given away free), there wasn't anything found at the office of Spice Trade Tours (not Utopia - although there allegedly was some unknown affialiation with that company) within the Tarntawan Hotel. The cops later allegedly found some underaged porn at the home of one of the directors (a guy named Scoble). The sad tale of what the press first reported as a underaged child deal can be found here:

Spice Trade fiasco

 

[i don't know any of these people but did follow the story when it came out a few years back. The moral of this story, of course, is one shouldn't believe much of what the press prints, especially about allegedly lurid matters.]

[Guest fountainhall]

I'm no promoter of Utopia but I think you have some of your information confused. Other than the magazine "Thai Guys" (which was given away free), there wasn't anything found at the office of Spice Trade Tours (not Utopia - although there allegedly was some unknown affialiation with that company) within the Tarntawan Hotel. The cops later allegedly found some underaged porn at the home of one of the directors (a guy named Scoble). The sad tale of what the press first reported as a underaged child deal can be found here:

Spice Trade fiasco

 

[i don't know any of these people but did follow the story when it came out a few years back. The moral of this story, of course, is one shouldn't believe much of what the press prints, especially about allegedly lurid matters.]

Thanks for the clarification and extra background Bob. I had forgotten the company traded as Utopia Tours. That is how is was advertised in the hotel and on its website at the time (although it had no connection with the website now known as utopia-asia.com). Indeed, I had them arrange my trips to Phnom Penh and Luang Prabang. The whole trial was a joke and a mockery of justice.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Purple Dragon, with it's office located in the Tarntawan Place Hotel, did replace Utopia Asia tours, with some of the same staff and some of the same management. I have used them for several tours both in Thailand and Vietnam. They are, as far as I am concerned, a reputable company providing a good level of tour services for the gay traveler.

 

If you would like to see the take of some others on this subject, look at the tread below from ThaiVisa.com

 

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/396430-suspected-child-sex-ring-uncovered-in-gay-porn-busts/

[Guest fountainhall]

They are, as far as I am concerned, a reputable company providing a good level of tour services for the gay traveler.

I wholeheartedly agree. Their arrangements were excellent.