Sex tycoon turns civic avenger


This dude is the boss of the Davis group. He owns at least 6 upscale mega sized massage parlours in Bangkok. He was kidnapped by cops a coupla months ago for saying he had to pay bribes. Now he is saying even more. Those are some fine chicks. Man, I'd love to have his job lol, who wouldn't?

BANGKOK: A sex tycoon who owns a string of massage parlours in Thailand is boiling with anger and indignation against the police.

With nearly 2,000 young women working for him, Chuwit Kamolvisit says he plied police for years with cash, Rolex watches, European cars and free services at his six parlours, with names like Emmanuelle, Victoria's Secret, and Honolulu Love Boat.


Thailand's massage parlour tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit (C) poses in a jacuzzi inside Copa Cabana, one of his six upscale entertainment clubs in Bangkok on August 2, 2003. A bribery scandal involving Chuwit and senior police has gripped the country and put the spotlight on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's campaign against police corruption. - REUTERS/Adrees Latif
And what does he get in return? Harassment and indifference when he got into trouble with the law for employing underage girls.

So Chuwit, 42, became a crusader for civic virtue, a celebrity avenger, holding daily news conferences to reveal charges of police greed, threatening to name the high-ranking policemen he says were beneficiaries of his generosity.

“This isn't a love comedy. It's a war movie. Somebody has to die in the end,'' the trim, moustachioed entrepreneur, who favours pink shirts and flashy ties, said in an interview at one of his clubs, Copa Cabana.

Thais are hanging on his every word, eagerly awaiting the latest episode of Chuwit's serial expose. Suddenly, the news channels and front pages of Thai newspapers have become spicier.

“Chuwit has become a public icon,'' wrote Suthichai Yoon, the editor of The Nation, an English language daily.

Chuwit has not provided a shred of evidence to back his claims. But in a country where police corruption is legendary, the credibility of Bangkok's officers is much the same of its massage parlour owners. No surprise then that the Thai public are enjoying watching the brown-uniformed force squirm under Chuwit's torrential allegations on national television.

“Once he may have been a 'bad boy' ready to cut corners and grease palms ... but when he decided to go for broke against corrupt police, Chuwit overnight became the darling of the urban middle class, who saw him as the outlet for their entrenched frustrations against 'crooks in uniform',” Suthichai wrote.

Chuwit's troubles – and those of the force – started when police arrested him on May 2 on charges of unlawfully demolishing a block housing scores of bars and shops to make way for another massage parlour.

In Thailand, a massage can mean two things – a genuine oil rub by hard-knuckled middle-aged masseurs, or the massage from a young woman that usually leads to sex in a back room.

But what happens at the parlour is between the masseur and the client, Chuwit says.

He claims to have spent about US$289,156 (RM1mil) each month in payoffs to policemen. He said he had even treated them to expensive wines, house renovations, tuition fees and event tickets.

“Enough is enough. I'm a mad dog now,'' he said. “If they can't help me out of something trivial like this, I see no point why I should continue paying it.''

Chuwit's allegations – made most dramatically at a press conference on a street outside the prime minister's office – named no names, carrying only hints about who took the money: Inspector T, Captain S and a “tall commander'' whose name begins with T.

At his side were his four sons, his wife and one of his mistresses. He cradled a Buddha in his arms to swear to his seriousness. He claimed even to have been kidnapped by the police. Still, his histrionics have yielded results: Last Tuesday, 17 policemen were suspended and 11 others moved to posts at police headquarters on grounds there was clear evidence that they had been seeking personal gain from Chuwit's enterprises.

His allegations have also forced national police chief Gen Sant Sarutanond to acknowledge that he is an investment partner with a hotel owner who also runs massage parlors.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has promised to transfer the entire force, if they are implicated, at the Huay Kwang police district, the main massage parlour neighbourhood.

“They deserve punishment for their insatiable greed,'' Chuwit said.

Fuck him with his white guy surcharges AND fuck the police with their corruption. I once got shaken down for 200 baht for not wearing a seatbelt in a taxi. I wonder if I could ever pass for an Asian with some creative makeup and save the 500 to 1000 baht WGS at his massage places. My Emmanuelle experience was decent, my Honolulu Love Boat experience was fantastic and Hi-Class experience was above average. Not bad, but still I hate the white guy surcharges. Ah well, as they say: TIT.

200 baht is $5. Small change for ya. But we'd better to remember wearing seatbelts anyway. Some of those cabbies are Schumacher wannabes, speeding - pun intended.

Too bad Xen, Big Dick surcharge

You're right, of course. But it is the idea of being shaken down that pisses me off the most, not the amount being paid.

The same thing goes with the white guy surcharge. It's the idea of them charging a foreigner more simply because he is a foreigner that pisses me off the most. Of course I have the choice not to frequent their establishment if it bothers me that much. And obviously it doesn't because I still go. But it still pisses me off and I like to bitch about it.

And it is not limited to massage parlors. I have read stories of national parks in Thailand that charge foreigners more.

Unfortunately it happens all over SEA, not just in Thailand. In most of the countries in that region, white (and Japanese) skin = walking ATM in their minds. Entrance fees for foreigners in many venues in Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia, to name a few, are far higher than for locals. And the working girls in Macau levied huge white guy surcharges on me. If I paid what the Hong Kong guys were paying, I could have banged triple the girls for the same cost.

It's something I've learned to accept, for the most part, but it does get me steamed from time to time, just like you. I do particularly get pissed about the surcharges in some of the BKK MPs. That's one of the reasons why some MPs get my repeat business, and others I never go to.

Since there are MPs that do not charge farang surcharges I just stick with those. As to 200 baht being only $5, I have to agree that it is the principle of the thing that stinks.
Perhaps I am being a nervous nelly about this, but while I am all for cleaning up corruption, I wonder whether this whole episode involving one of the major massage parlor owners could evolve into something that will re-inforce those in Thailand who led the crackdown a couple of years ago, and possibly signal the start of another crackdown, but one where the massage parlors are not immune.

This guys is trying to paint himself as a martyr but he did one of the most despicable things ever by demolishing a huge area on Sukhumvit while people were still asleep on the land. Instead of doing an eviction through legal channels, he just paid some guys to level the place overnight and some of them were in the military and police. The police can cover up most of his actions but this action got Thailand aweful publicity worldwide. The people who owned the business' were mostly farangs subletting to a Thai man who who continued to collect rent checks from the bar owners well after he was out of the picture was stealing from the tycoon. This made the tycoon angry and he went nuts by leveling an entire block. This was a gross miscalculation and now he's pissed that the police did not go to bat for him. He's correct in that the cop bribes have to stop but he would've never griped had it not been for the cops lack of cooperation during his idiocy. This guy is the typical Chinese-Thai who pays off police and government officials to look the other way when it comes to paying taxes and committing crimes and NOW he's complaining about it. The mainlander Chinese are the ones that created this system of greed and corruption between the Chinese merchants and the government/officials/police. I don't like any of his ivory skin girl establishments anyways...fuck him.

I personally would rather pay $5 than $170(in US) and get half a point on my driving record (for both passenger and driver. So what's the difference? Your $5 goes to a cop with low pay instead of your $170 which goes to the whole police dept. for their high salary. It's all the same except in the U.S. they make laws to fuck you in the ass legally.

-DJ

Murasaki, I doubt you'd bang three times as many chicks in Macau if you pay local rates. In Lisbao walkaround local rate is 500 foreigner rate is 800, up to 1000. Saunas, Massage parlours and nightclubs are about the same at 1200 and 1400 for both locals and foreigners. At the lower end, less attractive girls, foreigners pay about 300 and locals about 200. (Chicks from Lisbao also told me I was huge! So I think it is just a line some of them use.)

That's just the way it is. Perhaps white dudes gamble less, or rarely marry or send the girls money.

I get all the breaks in Thailand, Singapore, Macau, China etc so I'm not complaining.

-DJ

Tourguides took me to MPs in Bangkok the first time and the charge was 3600(!) much more than even farang surcharge. From reading some of you guys reports you guys never mention tipping, which me and a few of my friends do, about 300-1000 baht. I go to several other Gentlemen's clubs and the costs are much higher even for sitting around and chatting. Most of the clients are Asian men.

Many decades ago Thailand welcomed the Chinese with open arms because they are good business men and brought a lot of money to Thailand. Thailand was quite frankly a bit backwards. In fact they restricted Chinese women to only 100 per year because they wanted the Chinese men to Marry Thai women(true). And many of the prized Thai beauties have some Chinese blood. Thai food today is basically Chinese food with spices.

If you guys wanna bitch, bitch at your own(also my own) government for having no legalized prostitution. Not that you have to pay $9 extra at another country. You have to spend $150- for 30 mins in US, you go to Thailand and it is $40 or $50 for 2 hrs with much better service and facilities, and you guys bitch. Maybe they charge white dudes more cuz they tip less. Maybe the Japanese and Hong Kong dudes lose their heads when they're happy and tip big. Who knows? Why don't you write that Chuwit dude a letter and bitch? It aint gonna get any cheaper if you bitch here.

-DJ

Seems like this Chuwit guy may be one of the guys responsible for the sukumvit bulldozing incident, which is a disgrace. The article and headlines were not written by me, I never endorsed him. I only wrote the captions for the pic.

Blazers you need to cut your crap about the mainland Chinese inventing the bribery system. At least you are correct in differentiating between the mainlanders and the Chinese in Taiwan, Singapore(where there is little corruption) etc. You said that about the Philipines too. Even Philipinos told me it was the Philipinos who are the ones there into bribing.

Talking about bribes, heard today Calif Gov. Gay Davis just signed a bill allowing auto insurance comapnies to charge more for people who did not have insurance in the last 90 days, which contradicts CA voters prop 103. Another paycheck for scumbag Gay Davis. Sigh.

-DJ

"That's just the way it is. Perhaps white dudes gamble less, or rarely marry or send the girls money."

DJ, how many Hong Kong or mainland tourists to Macau do you think are sending the girls money? What does gambling have to do with the foreigner surcharge for all of the venues that have no association with casinos? I asked several people why there was a foreigner surcharge in Macau, and always got the same response: because foreigners were "bigger", "went longer" and consequently the girls had to "work harder."

You say "that's the way it is" and I said I've learned to accept it, but that it still gets me steamed from time to time. Are you saying I shouldn't be allowed to get steamed over discriminatory pricing? This coming from a guy who admits that: "I get all the breaks in Thailand, Singapore, Macau, China etc so I'm not complaining" ? If that's your intention, then I have to say that you're a little off base on this one.

Regarding Bangkok, first of all, on that first visit you were paying the tour guide commission, not a farang surcharge. Second of all, many of us do tip and write about it; yes, there must be those who don't. But wouldn't the same be true for the Asian customers? Some tip and some don't? After all, I've been told by guys in Singapore that they NEVER tip. And third of all, I feel this is a forum in which we can bitch about white farang gouging. We bitch about taxi commissions. Isn't that ok with you? We bitch about having to pay white guy surcharges as well. This is a discussion group, not a letter writing program to price gouging MP moguls on the other side of the globe. If the surcharges were for the most part as small as you make them out to be, then it wouldn't that much of an issue. However, they usually run in the 1000-2000 Baht range in the big massage parlors that engage in this type of pricing, which is a substantial difference. Why you are sticking up for this system is totally beyond my comprehension.

DJ: You are a bit off-base posting four posts complaining (essentially)about others complaining on this board

DJ, my statements regarding the mainland Chinese and their practices regarding corruption (and hard work, I might add) were not something I made up. I suggest you read "World On Fire" by Amy Chua which discusses the dominant market minority in Southeast Asia and the author's parents were mainland Chinese practicing business in the Philippines. So it is not from an outsiders perspective. This has been a huge problem in Southeast Asia and could lead to serious problems in the future of our hobby destinations. When 1% of the population(mainland Chinese) control 99% of the economy, something has to give.

Just a few quick points. I might have been over assertive but I don't think I was off base. I broke my single post into four parts because there were many points I was responding to.

The tipping I was talking about was at the BKK MPs. In Singapore, yes, tipping is rare. Even at restaurants(just like in Japan, as I'm sure Murasaki knows), except at expensive restaurants-where they add a 10% surcharge.

In the Red light district Geylang in Singapore the foreigner surcharge is added to any non Singaporean. Geylang is built by Singaporeans for Singaporeans with Singaporean money. If you are a Chinese from Taiwan or Hong Kong you pay the surcharge. Even though your dick is not any bigger. The truth is that for the girls working at massage parlours in Bangkok or Singapore(which almost never has Singapore girls), dick size makes little difference, unless you are hung like a horse. Saying it is due to a big dick is partly to pacify foreigners. And I'm sure there are 2 min white dudes as well as 2 min Asian dudes. If it is true that the girls have to work harder and longer for foreigners than isn't it fair to pay the surcharge?

When a country has prostitution there are thoseit can often suffer a little in reputation. Singapore, a first world country, is more pragmatic and would rather have it regulated than have it go underground. Sex is a stress reliever, even paid sex. But when foreigners come to a country they don't have to pay the cost in terms of negative effects on the environment which the locals have to pay.

In other countries where it is less regulated there are many more issues to deal with. What about diseases? Or AIDS? Thousands of Thai girls dying of AIDS, and in Cambodia there are kids borned with AIDS at an AIDS center. I gave away a lot of cash in Cambo, big deal. What if you are a Thai or Cambo doing back breaking work for dimes or finishing college to find a $200/mth job? And foreigners are coming here to fuck your women? Wouldn't you be pissed? We are all humans so why is life so unfair?

Why you guys always have this negative glass is half empty attitude? So be happy you live somewhere where you make $x000/mth and have opportunities to fuck other countries' women.

-Dick

DJ
I am more than happy to let the Thai or Singapore men come here and fuck our women.

That should make us even and obviate any surcharge- don't ya think ????

Well, KM, why don't we gather our money and open an MP here? But that would be illegal. I'm sure there are some American women charging foreigners up their butts.

I just want to add that Mura and Xen and LAGuy are very good reporters.

(BTW, Macau's girls are not freelancers but are controlled by the Triads(who runs the casinoes). Macau is secret society haven. Some girls do get set up by high rollers who buy apartments to put them in("er nai"-second wife/mistress).

And Blazers, I have issues with mainland Chinese too. L.A. has more and more of them by the day. A lot of them need to have some class. Pissing away the goodwill of the Taiwanese Chinese and ABCs etc.

But I wouldn't blame other countries problems on the mainlanders. The parts of Thailand and Philpines that are poor has little to do with the Chinese. Look at Thailand's and Philipines' surrounding neighbours. Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, far more phucked up! Bangkok is Manhatten in comparison. Malaysia has more Chinese and is richer. And countries with lots of Chinese(who were once from the mainland) like Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong are even richer.

Every country ought to be like Singapore and set up a Corruption Investigations bureau.

The ten most Corrupt nations are Bolivia, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Columbia, Russia, Mexico, Venezeula etc. It's easy to come up with the idea of bribery. It's how to stop it that takes a bit more work.

-DJ

(Message edited by Dickjohnson on August 08, 2003)

Thought this might be of interest:

Thai Massage Parlors Swell Government Coffers
Thu August 7, 2003 10:36 AM ET
BANGKOK (Reuters) - More men are visiting Thailand's famed massage parlors, helping refill depleted government coffers despite a renewed police effort to stop masseuses from selling sex, tax officials said on Thursday.

Excise department chief Sathit Limpongpan told reporters the country's 88 registered massage parlors paid 30 percent more taxes in July than in June.

A bribery scandal involving a massage parlor tycoon and senior policemen which resulted in more active police patrolling around many massage parlors had not put men off.

"It is like having a meal. People have to eat no matter what," Sathit said. "If a restaurant you usually visit has a problem, you just go to one that doesn't."