Corruption 101: Prostitution & the police

MP Chuwit lectures Hat Yai students on how police make money from prostitution, a subject not normally taught in university courses.

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Local News

Chuvit exposes Hat Yai brothel

9/09/2012
Photo by Post Today
Online Reporters

MP Chuvit Kamolvisit on Sunday revealed video footage of a brothel in Hat Yai district of Songkhla where he said the operator has been giving at least 50,000-baht in bribes a month to local police officers.

Speaking at Hat Yai's Prince of Songkhla University as a guest speaker on corruption, the Rak Thailand Party leader said the brothel was located in Soi Yakult on Nipat Uthit Road where there are more than 50 karaoke bars with a large number of underage girls and female migrant workers. Most brothels used bars as their front, he said. The footage was two and a half minutes long.

Mr Chuvit claimed a receptionist at the brothel told him that customers would be told that none of the women working there would cause any problems because local police allegedly had their personal records.

The brothel allegedly paid 40,000–50,000 baht a month to police. The police collect the bribe money themselves, he said.

Mr Chuvit said he would hold a press conference clarifying the prostitution racket in Hat Yai again in Bangkok this week. He would also expose a human trafficking gang that bribes immigration officials in order to facilitate the smuggling of migrants from Cambodia’s border town of Poipet to Bangkok’s On Nut area.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Local News, Chuvit exposes Hat Yai brothel, 9/09/2012, Photo by Post Today, Online Reporters, link) 


Police Corruption Vocabulary

police corruption - when police use their power to enforce laws as a tool to illegally make money for themselves (See Wikipedia)

prostitution - the business of selling sex การค้าประเวณี (See Wikipedia)
racket - an illegal activity or business that earns money การหาเงินโดยผิดกฎหมาย
prostitution racket -  an illegal prostitution business

brothel - a place where people use the services of prostitution (See Wikipedia)

a front - a legal business used to hide an illegal business (to make it look like a normal business that does not break laws)
brothels used bars as their front

underage girl - not old enough to have sex with me (illegal for a man to have sex with), also called "child prostitution" (See Wikipedia)
karaoke bars with a large number of underage girls

trafficking - the business of buying and selling things illegally (drugs, weapons, humans for prostitution, etc)
human trafficking - buying and selling humans illegally for purposes such as forced labour or prostitution (See Wikipedia)

expose - show public the truth; to make something publicly known because you believe it is illegal or dishonest ตีแผ่ เปิดเผย   เปิดเผยออกมา
Chuvit exposes Hat Yai brothel

footage - film or video of a particular subject or event ฟิลม์หรือคลิปภาพยนตร์ หรือวิดีโอ การเสนอข่าว
the footage was two and a half minutes long

revealed - made known or showed somthing that was surprising or that was previously secret เปิดเผย
revealed video footage of a brothel

operator - a person or company running a business

bribes - money or a present given to someone so that they will help you doing something dishonest or illegal สินบน
50,000-baht in bribes a month

local - in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about ท้องถิ่น
local police officers

MP Chuvit Kamolvisit on Sunday revealed video footage of a brothel in Hat Yai district of Songkhla where he said the operator has been giving at least 50,000-baht in bribes a month to local police officers.

corruption - (See Wikipedia on bribery, political corruption)

guest speaker - a person invited to a place to give a speech or talk on some topic
guest speaker on corruption

migrant - moving from one place to another อพยพ
migrant worker- someone who travels to another place or country in order to find work (an immigrant is someone who comes to live in a country from another country) ผู้อพยพ

female - of a woman สำหรับผู้หญิง
female migrant workers

Speaking at Hat Yai's Prince of Songkhla University as a guest speaker on corruption, the Rak Thailand Party leader said the brothel was located in Soi Yakult on Nipat Uthit Road where there are more than 50 karaoke bars with a large number of underage girls and female migrant workers. Most brothels used bars as their front, he said. The footage was two and a half minutes long.

claim - to say something is true (without providing complete proof that it is true)
Mr Chuvit claimed ...

receptionist - the worker who meets visitors to an office or business when they come (also often answers the phone and takes messages too)
a receptionist at the brothel told him

personal - the things about one person (that identify them and tell their history)
records - pieces of information describing something written down or stored on a computer บันทึุก
personal records - information about a person (that other people usually are not allowed to see or view)

allegedly - claimed to be true, but not yet proven ที่ถูกกล่าวหา
local police allegedly had their personal records

bribe (noun) - money or a present given to someone so that they will help you doing something dishonest or illegal สินบน
bribe (verb) - to give money or presents to someone so that they will help you by doing something dishonest or illegal ติดสินบน
the police collect the bribe money themselves

Mr Chuvit claimed a receptionist at the brothel told him that customers would be told that none of the women working there would cause any problems because local police allegedly had their personal records. The brothel allegedly paid 40,000–50,000 baht a month to police. The police collect the bribe money themselves, he said.

press - newspapers and magazines, and those parts of television and radio which broadcast news, or reporters and photographers who work for them สื่อมวลชน

press conference - a meeting held to give important information to the press (newspapers, media), also called a "news conference" (See Wikipedia)
hold a press conference

clarify - to make clear, to give the details so that people know about something
clarifying the prostitution racket in Hat Yai

expose - show public the truth; to make something publicly known because you believe it is illegal or dishonest ตีแผ่ เปิดเผย   เปิดเผยออกมา
expose a human trafficking gang

smuggling - take things illegally into a country or other place ลักลอบขนสินค้าหรือคนเข้าและออกจากประเทศอย่างผิดกฎหมาย

facilitate - help; to make it possible or easier for something to happen ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น ทำให้ง่าย
facilitate smuggling

immigration - 1. the process in which people enter and leave a country การย้ายถิ่นฐาน 2. the controls that governments place on flows of people into the country
immigration officials 

bribes immigration officials in order to facilitate smuggling

migrants - people who travel to a different region or country to live and work ผู้อพยพ ในที่นี้หมายถึง คนต่างจังหวัดที่อพยพเข้ามาหางานทำที่กรุงเทพ
he smuggling of migrants from Cambodia

border - the official line separating two areas, regions or countries เขตแดน อาณาเขต
border town

Cambodia’s border town of Poipet

Mr Chuvit said he would hold a press conference clarifying the prostitution racket in Hat Yai again in Bangkok this week. He would also expose a human trafficking gang that bribes immigration officials in order to facilitate the smuggling of migrants from Cambodia’s border town of Poipet to Bangkok’s On Nut area.