Organization: Central Michigan University
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.seasia-l
Date:         Wed, 11 Nov 1992 07:53:09 EST
From:         Elliott Parker <3ZLUFUR@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Subject:      TH: Public officials urged to be courteous

=======================  Forwarded  Message  ===========================
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 92 00:13:17+0700
From: Kamol Hengkietisak <kamol@ipied.tu.ac.th>


ALL officials who directly serve the public should be trained on
ways to treat them with courtesy, Interior Minister Gen Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh said yesterday.

Asked what should be done to improve the attitudes of Public
Welfare officials since many of them are rude to the people that
they serve, Gen Chavalit said that not only the welfare officials
but all officials should be trained to serve the people.

Gen Chavalit also sai Y  QB:%11  % wing the Prostitution
Prevention Act and use this as a means to solve the prostitution
problem.

Some lawmen are "more or less involved with brothels" and if he
knows of this happening anywhere he would personally go after
them, the minister said.

Other non-legal measures will also have to be implemented to solve
the prostitution problem since it is a deep-rooted social issue,
he said.

Top priority should be given in suppressing child prostitution,
police should not protect brothels and those who force women into
prostitution should be dealt with severely.

He said that some women become prostitutes of their own free will
as can be seen by the case of the 43 prostitutes who escaped from
a detention at the Songkhla court because they heard that they
would be sent for vocational training in Pakkred rather than sent
home.

Gen Chavalit said that he did not mean to say that he would close
all brothels in Thailand within two months which was impossible.

What he meant was that he would try to solve the problem within
two months.

Regarding a proposal for the legalisation of prostitution, the
Interior Minister said he would have to discuss it with other
agencies concerned first because many of them oppose it.

Gen Chavalit said that he will not transfer Songkhla governor as
some MPs have called for.

Asked about the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Lt-Gen
Chamlong Iamchaengphan's insistence that there were no longer any
brothels in Bangkok, Gen Chavalit said that everyone knew that
there were many brothels in the capital.

"No one would register brothels to show you that they exist," the
minister quipped.

Meanwhile Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Chamlong
Iamchaengphan yesterday downplayed the widespread reaction from
politicians and others to his remark that there were no longer
brothels in the City.

Pol Lt-Gen Chamlong said he will not argue with those who do not
agree with him but will continue to crack down on the flesh trade.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Pol Maj-Gen Pinit
Sunsatham said nobody could confirm that there are no longer
brothels in the City.

But he did say that police have been cracking down hard on the
flesh trade which uses children as prostitutes and the kind of
flesh business which forcefully confines women to brothels.

Pol Maj-Gen Pinit said teahouses, restaurants and hotels where
prostitutes may be available are not called brothels. His comment
apparently supported his superior's statement.

During another interview with Police Chief Pol Gen Sawat
Amornvivat, Pol Lt-Gen Chamlong was asked if he knew that there
was a brothel right in front of Interior Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh's house in Nonthaburi.

Both officers replied at the same time that they knew nothing of
this but said they would take strif action in accordance with the
policy of the Government.
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