Thailand: a young couple arrested, the debate around prostitution and corruption revived

The sex trade is rampant in Thailand.

Jack TAYLOR AFP

Text by: Carol Isoux

2 min

In Thailand, the arrest of a young couple provokes indignation and renews the debate around prostitution, omnipresent and yet officially still illegal in the country.

Who is this young couple arrested, and what exactly are they being accused of?

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From our correspondent in Bangkok,

Young Nong Khai Nao, literally Miss Rotten Egg by her stage name, 19, was arrested along with her boyfriend, 20, for making amateur pornographic videos, uploaded to a paid platform, Onlyfans, which allows to publish explicit content, in exchange for 20% of subscription revenue.

But in Thailand, as the head of the police department for cybercrime reminds us, it is forbidden to put pornographic content online, considered a form of sex trade, which is also strictly prohibited.

The two young people risk up to three years in prison and a fine of 1,500 euros for “undermining morals”.

Extensive support for the young couple

Many Thais, and especially Internet users, did not hesitate to show their support for the young couple. The arrest is considered "

" "

" "

", on the networks, mobilized en masse under the banner "

". Unexpected support also from the traditional media: one of the main television channels in the kingdom devoted a special program to the case in which it asked itself: "

 "

What arouses outrage is the disconnect between the real facts, the ubiquity of the sex trade in Thailand and the state of the legislation which, according to activists, benefits a handful of corrupt police officers who receive bribes for close their eyes and weaken women, placed at their mercy.

Moreover, many whisper that if Khai Nao was arrested it is undoubtedly that her business was too flourishing, she had boasted of having earned nearly 25,000 euros in three months, without paying anything back to anyone.

What also stirs up the anger is the question of police priorities, Thais compare years of murder or corruption cases that have gone unpunished to the zeal with which this online porn story is handled.

Individual freedoms in question

Finally, the case is added to the debate on individual freedoms, carried by the pro-democracy movement which takes over the case and intends to make the young woman a symbol: symbol of the backwardness of the current government, from the former soldiers to the retirement age for many, on questions of individual freedoms.

► 

The day after the arrest of the two young people, about fifty pro-democracy activists appeared in front of the police station to demand their release on bail, which was finally obtained.

Khai Nao herself, who is a law student and had no particular political commitment, now says she wants to " 

 ".

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