Not a 'Tuck-in' Service

Human-rights activists and the Chinese Embassy yesterday condemned the publication of a photograph of a naked prostitute on the front page of the mass-circulation Thai-language daily Thai Rath as unethical.

Police, meanwhile, defended themselves by saying they could not stop a troop of newsmen from taking photos of the naked commercial sex worker, who is an illegal alien from China.

The photo in yesterday's Daily News. (Thai Rath photo not available.)

According to one of yesterday's editions of Thai Rath, officials from the 8th Metropolitan Police Division, led by Colonel Wichai Sangpraphai, on Wednesday night posed as would-be patrons looking to purchase the services of four sex workers at the Grand Tower Inn, in Bangkok's Klong San District.

The undercover police officers then made the arrests after the workers, all from mainland China, had stripped.

A duty editor at Thai Rath, who requested anonymity, said that it was a mistake to publish the photo and that the newspaper would consider making an apology.

The rival Daily News also carried a photo of the woman lying on a hotel bed, partially covered by a blanket held by a police officer.

An official from the Chinese Embassy described the photos as terrible and said the embassy was looking at the issue closely and would take appropriate action.

Dr Suthin Noppaket, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, said police had gone too far in their attempt to publicise the arrests.

Wallop Tangkhananurak, senator and chairman of the parliamentary committee for the affairs of women, youth and the elderly, said police did not have any justifiable reasons to expose those workers to the media. "I understand that police must have told reporters about the arrest. I found it so unethical and cruel to those women," said Wallop.

He added that he would hold a news conference today and also lodge an official complaint with the National Police Office.

Suphen Phungkhoksung, who heads the Women's Rights Protection Centre of the Friends for Women Foundation, said police could have made the arrests and pressed charges immediately after handing money over to the prostitutes' agent. They did not have to wait until the women had stripped. She said her foundation had contacted the Immigration Office to help the four women.

The Empower Foundation has also sent an open letter to the National Police Office demanding that the office review its sting-operation strategy.