If you associate the Thai area of Pattaya with nothing but sex tourism and Singha-powered sleeze, this story will confirm your suspicions.
On Saturday night at about 11:30 PM police stormed a hotel room at the Ban Tulip Hotel in South Pattaya. What they found was 25 people in various stages of copulation, with sex toys, lube, and condoms scattered about the floor. Eleven men of varying origin were arrested along with 14 women.
Videos by VICE
Those arrested had traveled from the US, Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, Cambodia, India, Ukraine, and of course, Australia.
Here’s a YouTube video from police, showing the raid:
According to the Bangkok Post, the event had been organised by the hotel’s owner via Facebook. Chinese national Xeng-chai Yang, 53, was arrested for violating the Hotel Act and illegally facilitating sexual activities—which meant holding an orgy in the hotel’s ground floor, and charging patrons 1,500 baht per person, which came in at about AU$63.
Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, and even in areas like Pattaya where sex is openly flouted as a tourist drawcard.
The Bang Lamung district chief told the Bangkok Post that they’d been tipped off by other guests staying at the hotel. “My staff coordinated with police, immigration and the military to strike quickly and accurately,” he told reporter Chaiyot Pupattanapong. “We carried out the operation while they were having sex and we shut them down.”
The hotel owner allegedly faces a fine of 18 million baht. All 11 men had their details recorded and were then released.