phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2023 1:43 pm Been ages since i was in a bar in Phuket other than for a meal in the beergarden or Ozzie bar in Kamala, BUT back in the day there were always a few underage girls working >

a good read;

March 16th
Patong bar raided for child sex trafficking
PHUKET: A special operations team from the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) raided a bar off Bangla Rd, Patong last night (Mar 15), where two women were charged with sex trafficking underage prostitutes, the youngest of whom was 15 years old.

https://www.thephuketnews.com/patong-ba ... -87493.php

The next day the Thai Examiner wrote an extensive article about the original raid at the bar, Velvet, on Phuket’s main bar strip, Bangla Road. The news website reported that the police were hunting for the owner of the bar, a Swiss national. Known associates of the Swiss man were said to be under surveillance. Thailand’s best-known officer, Big Joke, had been assigned to lead the investigation.

This past Tuesday night, the story made the national news and grabbed the attention of those in the Bangkok bar industry after police raided 9 bars / businesses around the country at the same time: 6 in Patpong, 1 in Pattaya and 2 in Phuket. TV reports followed police officers walking through the Patpong Museum.

With a swathe of foreign-owned bars in Patpong soi 2 closed including Black Pagoda, The Strip, XXX Lounge and Bar Bar, the rumour mill went in to overdrive, and on Wednesday night it was the talk of the town. Across the bar industry, bar owners were all asking the same questions. Was the boss of these Patpong bars involved in the underage business in Phuket? Could this be the end of his bars in Patpong soi 2?

In an industry full of jealousy, back-stabbing and mistruths and outright lies, some bar bosses love nothing more than trash-talking their rivals. The rumours and speculation that followed were wild.

One mooted that the Phuket bar mafia were involved. The Bangkok bar boss had swooped down from Bangkok, his pockets filled with cash and scooped up some bars on the cheap. The Phuket bar mafia saw him as a vulture and the whole thing with the underage girls was a setup, orchestrated to take him down as payback

.

Putting things together from news reports, it appeared that the mamasan at Velvet had a friend working as an “agent”. Together they were running a network of underage girls who bar customers would be directed to meet in a nearby hotel.

The Swiss fellow mentioned in the news reports was reported to be the owner of Velvet. Let’s call him “R”. A friend who knew “R” when he worked in Bangkok described him as a “savvy bar boss”.

“R” had previously worked in Bangkok where he managed Black Pagoda and The Strip. He is also said to be an investor in these and other bars in Patpong. Conversely, the main owner of the Bangkok bars raided is said to have a share in Velvet, where the underage operation is alleged to have been run from.

News articles say “R” fled to a neighbouring country which, history shows us, usually means Cambodia.

After discovering the links between Velvet in Phuket and a bunch of bars in Bangkok, investigators flew north and descended on Patpong. On Tuesday of this week, teams of cops were all over Bangkok’s oldest bar area as bars were closed, staff questioned, photos taken and documents taken away.

The next day – this past Wednesday – the grapevine went in to overdrive as bar industry figures city-wide speculated on what was going on.

It has been the talk of the bar industry since with everyone asking the same question. Was the boss of these Bangkok bars involved in an elaborate operation with underage girls? The verdict was unanimous: No-one believed he was aware of what was going on down in Phuket.

https://www.stickmanbangkok.com/weekly- ... t-patpong/


ON another point concerning bar fines ( although thai specific would it also apply to pp where i have heard BF are $10-20 girls asking for $75-100 for all night>My last hostess bar experience in PP dates back to probaly around 2012 where it was $5 BF and $25 for all night


Why fewer barfines are being paid

My thought is that there might be less barfining now not because there is a new kind of customer, but because it is no longer the good deal that it was. Okay, prices rise everywhere, but rates in the bars have seen increases that are far in excess of inflation in other areas. Is it greed or a necessity for the bar owners and the girls? Probably a bit of both, but people’s pockets are only so deep. People often talk of the good old days with rose-coloured glasses, but the bar scene really was in a golden age back in the 80s and 90s. Genuine warmth from those in the business and value for money – cheap, even – whereas now bars that provide ‘public relations’ lean more and more towards the seedy places that have largely died out in the west and with prices to match.

Stickman