The resort located in the east of Thailand has been branded the modern day Sodom and Gomorrah β the biblical kingdom infested with vice and sin. Cops arrived to find people allegedly having group sex in the hotel room that was scattered with condoms, lubricant, sexual enhancement drugs and toys. Many sex workers come from the impoverished northeast and see selling their bodies as a way out of poverty.
Prostitution is illegal in Thailand but for decades lawmakers and police have turned a blind eye enabling the sex industry to thrive - until now.
We want Thailand to be about quality tourism. We want the sex industry gone. Officers also stormed pubs and clubs, seizing drugs and tobacco and drug testing patrons.
While the crackdown settled things down for a while, residents said Pattaya was well and truly back to its old tricks β and may have become worse. His alleged attacker, American man Jose Manuel Polanco, claimed he attacked Mr Robb in self-defence after seeing the Australian strangle a sex worker. Days later, a massive fight broke out on Walking Street between British tourists and men of Middle Eastern appearance.
Meanwhile, the sex industry has continued to thrive despite the crackdowns. Earlier this month, German authorities raided 62 properties and arrested seven men they allege brought Thai sex workers to Germany on fake tourist visas.
