Two members of a wealthy Bangkok family were arrested on warrants for human trafficking earlier this week. The father and daughter, 54 year old Wiraya and 37 year old Wachi, allegedly started recruiting women to work in Bahrain in 2015, saying they would give traditional Thai massages. Instead, the women were forced into sex slavery.
Some of the women escaped, and reported what happened to them to human trafficking police. Wiraya and Wachi have denied everything, according to Thai media. Siam Rath reported that Wiraya and Wachi are “mega rich”, and own one of Thailand’s biggest “moo ping” or pork ball suppliers, among other businesses. Siam Rath also said the two “used their name and influence” to recruit the women.
Wiraya and Wachi now face charges of luring people into sex trafficking, and police are continuing to investigate. Anti-human trafficking police arrested the father and daughter in Bangkok’s Thon Buri district.
This isn’t the first time Thai nationals have been accused of trafficking women to the Middle East, under the guise that they will work as a masseuse. In March, police in Chachoengsao, a province east of Bangkok, arrested a woman suspected of tricking another woman into working as a prostitute in the United Arab Emirates. She was one of six suspects in the case.
The victim told authorities she was invited to work as a masseuse at a spa in Dubai. The woman who invited her was called ‘Ms. Lilly’, and promised her a 40,000 baht monthly salary. After she flew to Dubai in September, Ms. Lilly confiscated her passport and ordered her to give clients sexual services.
SOURCE: Siam Rath