2 Singaporean men among 5 arrested in Thailand for alleged involvement in prostitution ring

BANGKOK - Police are pursuing criminal proceedings against two Singaporean men and three Thai nationals suspected of involvement in an online network recruiting Thai women for prostitution in Singapore, following operations in Rayong and Phitsanulok.The Thai Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) reported arrests in the two provinces.Four suspects were identified in Thailand’s Criminal Court arrest warrants, while a 35-year-old Thai man was summoned by investigators to be informed of charges.The CIB investigation followed information shared by the Specialised Crime Branch of the Singapore Police Force’s Criminal Investigation Department about an alleged online prostitution network recruiting women from Thailand.Investigators linked the activities to a network known as Lover’s Fortress, according to police.Officers examined bank transactions allegedly connected to prostitution earnings, traced the suspects and obtained arrest warrants.Police reported seizing items with a combined value exceeding 350,000 baht (S$13,000), comprising:15 mobile phonesThree computers and laptops in total16 bank passbooks10 ATM cards100,000 baht in cashJewelleryThe police account identified five suspects, including two Singaporean men aged 46 and 42, two Thai women aged 37 and 33, and a Thai man aged 35.Police listed allegations relating to the recruitment of women, the organisation and promotion of prostitution, financial transactions and participation in a transnational criminal organisation.The alleged offences comprise:Jointly procuring, enticing or taking women for indecent acts to gratify another person, even where the women consented.Jointly assisting, facilitating or protecting prostitution, receiving benefits in any form from another person’s prostitution or from a person engaged in prostitution, and arranging prostitution between sex workers and customers.Jointly advertising, soliciting or promoting prostitution through documents, printed material or other means of public dissemination, in a manner indicating solicitation or contact for one’s own prostitution or that of another person.Jointly procuring, enticing or taking a person into prostitution, even with that person’s consent and regardless of whether the acts constituting the offence occurred inside or outside Thailand.Conspiring with two or more people to commit money laundering, with a money-laundering offence subsequently committed as a result of that agreement.Jointly laundering money.Participating in a transnational criminal organisation.The 46-year-old Singaporean man identified as L, admitted during initial questioning that he had recruited Thai women for prostitution in Singapore since 2019, according to the police.L identified the other 42-year-old Singaporean man, A, as his business partner and described using Telegram, LINE and WhatsApp to communicate with customers.The 37-year-old Thai woman told investigators that she created online storefronts, sought customers and coordinated with agencies and accommodation providers, according to the police account.The 33-year-old Thai woman acknowledged lending her bank account but maintained that she did not know what it would be used for, police reported.The 35-year-old Thai man admitted working as an administrator answering customer enquiries and editing photographs of women in the network under instructions from the 37-year-old woman, according to police.Police referred the suspects to investigators for further legal proceedings. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK