Matt Owens Rees

Beyond the Bamboo Curtain How the owner of a Thai massage parlour is dealing with a police raid on her bar—and the arrest of some of the girls.

(The image above is a stock photo, not related to this news item)
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A massage shop owner in Prachuap Khiri Khan has accused police officers of raping one of her Laotian employees, and a deputy superintendent (plus his entourage) of extorting money from her.

The shop owner, 40-year-old Aom, appeared on Channel 3’s Hone Krasae news programme on September 30 to air her grievances. She didn’t hold back.

Aom admitted she knew some girls offered “extra services” to customers—if asked nicely.

The girls handled their own negotiations and kept the proceeds. Entrepreneurial spirit, perhaps—but not on the books.

Some of the ladies were from Laos without work permits.

But although Aom had been running her bar for two years as a “venue for health improvement,” she claimed she didn’t know foreigners needed work permits. She thought valid passports were enough.

A common misunderstanding—or a convenient one.

She recalled a police raid in 2023, when officers took her and her staff to the station and demanded 50,000 baht to let the business carry on.

When she refused—because she didn’t have that kind of cash—the police took everyone back to the bar. Then they hung around for a while. Quite a while.

According to Aom, “The deputy superintendent and more than ten other officers drank six bottles of beer and left without paying.” Not exactly textbook law enforcement.

One Laotian girl told Aom the deputy superintendent forced her to have sex, threatening arrest if she refused.

She stopped working at the bar soon after. Understandably—she’d had enough of dodging both customers and cops.

Aom said the extortion didn’t stop there. Over the years, police allegedly demanded she cover their meals, booze, and other expenses. A sort of unofficial subscription service.

Eventually, she shut down the massage parlour and turned it into a restaurant. New menu, same pressure.

Then came a local journalist, allegedly tight with senior police, who asked for 6,000 baht a month. When Aom refused, he wrote scathing reviews that tanked her restaurant’s reputation.

Under pressure from both the police and the press, Aom went public.

During the broadcast, the accused officer declined to speak to the host. The case is now under investigation—though in Thailand, that can mean anything from “ongoing” to “forgotten”.