A BRIT has been jailed for 21 years in Thailand for human trafficking and prostitution offences.
William Reece Bilton, 33, was the manager of a night spot in notorious resort Pattaya called the Flirt bar.
Pattaya is notorious as a hotspot for seedy clubs and sex tourism[/caption]
Police have for years tried to crack down on the sex-work industry in Pattaya[/caption]
It was raided two years ago when dozens of women were taken away for questioning.
Local police chief Thanapong Phothi said at the time: “We made the arrest to build confidence in Pattaya’s image among tourists.”
Reece, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, has now been jailed for a total of 21 years and six months for a string of offences including putting a 16-year-old girl into prostitution.
He was also fined 30,000 Thai baht (£681) for breaking Thailand’s labour laws and advertising the teenager on the bar’s Facebook page.
Reece had been caught on video providing the price for potential customers to spend time with the teenage girl, Bangkok Criminal Court heard.
Two Thai men who helped run the bar were also jailed for 21 years while a Thai woman was jailed for three years and fined 30,000 Thai baht (£681).
She was found guilty of running an illegal sex business and unregistered company but was cleared of the trafficking charges.
There are strict laws against prostitution in Thailand but they are widely ignored, particularly in tourist hotspots such as Pattaya, dubbed Sin City.
Researchers reckon there could be around 200,000 sex workers sex workers across the country with prostitution contributing $6.4bn to Thailand’s GDP.
There have been repeated attempts by the authorities to crack down on prostitution.
In May police and immigration officers desperate to improve the image of Pattaya arrested 13 nationals from Uzbekistan and Uganda who were working as prostitutes.
Officials said they would be deported.
It comes as a British couple were last month charged with smuggling £1million worth of cannabis out of Thailand.
Sian Warren, 34, and Daniel McDonald, 36, were stopped when they returned to Heathrow.
Bar girls try to attract customers from the street in Pattaya[/caption]
Pattaya is incredibly popular amongst tourists[/caption]
National Crime Agency officers found four cases packed with more than 51kg of cannabis.
The pair were charged with importing Class B drugs and appeared the following day at Uxbridge magistrates’ court.
They have been bailed under curfew ahead of a plea hearing on June 26 at Isleworth crown court.
The couple left Salford for a dream holiday to Bangkok last month.
Sian works as an administrator for Daniel’s dad’s building business.
