Simon Carman case puts blowtorch on Australians buying sex in Thailand as new study reveals one in four paid

When news broke that a 17-year-old Thai girl had allegedly been murdered by an Australian man in Pattaya, child protection advocate Siromes Akrapongpanich was saddened, but not shocked.

For years, he has walked the streets of Thailand’s most notorious sex tourism hub, warning tourists about child exploitation.

To him, the death of Tunchanok Donhomla – allegedly strangled by Ballarat-born Simon Carman before her body was stuffed into a suitcase – was a tragedy that exposed the dark side of an industry that has exploited vulnerable people for decades.

“Honestly, I was not that shocked,” Mr Akrapongpanich told The Nightly from Pattaya.

“In Pattaya, the underage going out with the foreigners … that’s very disturbing to me because that’s the root cause of the problem.”

Carman, 45, has been charged with murder, concealment of a body and offences relating to taking a minor for sexual purposes. Thai authorities say he denies the charges.

His arrest last month has thrust global attention back on to Pattaya, the beachside city two hours south of Bangkok known for its neon-lit bars, go-go clubs, street sex workers and decades-old reputation as Thailand’s “Sin City”.

Prostitution remains illegal in Thailand but operates openly, with Pattaya estimated to have as many as 60,000 sex workers.

About 800,000 Australians visit Thailand annually, including an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 who travel to Pattaya, although there are no official figures showing how many purchase sex.

Mr Akrapongpanich, deputy director of Human Help Network Foundation (HHNF) Thailand and Director of its Child Protection and Development Centre, said Australians formed just one part of Pattaya’s evolving tourist mix.

“You also cannot say 100 per cent that the majority of Australian people are here just for sexual pleasure,” he said.

“We also see a lot of family tourists and the ones who come for exotic sports like bungee jumping or rock climbing.”

He said Pattaya also attracted young men drawn by bodybuilding culture.

“In Pattaya the performance-enhancing chemicals for the athlete are still very easy to find,” he said.

“So we have a little bit of everything when it comes to Australians, and yes, of course, also cheap alcohol and cheap sex.”

He said Australians were also “occasionally” involved in alcohol-fuelled confrontations with bar security.

“Australian people, they’re quite bulky and muscular, so they get drunk and they have this fight up here with the local people,” he said.

“They normally push it to the extreme.”

HHNF outreach teams patrol Pattaya’s Walking Street and red-light districts, trying to convince tourists to recognise the difference between adult prostitution and child exploitation.

Mr Akrapongpanich said only about 10 to 15 percent of foreign tourists stopped to engage with the foundation’s volunteers.

“You can imagine that it is very awkward, especially if they were seeking sexual pleasure, to have their ears on and listen to all these kinds of messages,” he said.

He said the impact of sex tourism extends far beyond individual victims.

“It creates many social problems and affects the mentality of the people here,” he said.

“We have bars, we have brothels, we have Turkish bath, we have go-go within the 50 or even 100-metre radius from the schools, the hospital and the temple.”

His own four-year-old son once asked him why women were “half naked”, drunk in the afternoon and kissing foreign men as they drove through town.

The HHNF is supporting about 70 children affected by the sex trade, including around 10 who have witnessed a parent providing sexual services to clients.

“The danger is that children begin to see it as normal,” he said.

“If certain children or students can see that their friends are much better off going out with the foreigners – they get that new phone or that new motorbike – it also creates bad values for the children.”

Leading international sex tourism researcher Ronald Weitzer told The Nightly there were no precise figures on the number of sex tourists visiting Thailand each year.

“But tourism overall has expanded tremendously in recent years and, consequently, the number of tourists who seek erotic entertainment or services has increased as well,” he said.

“Some of the tourists who had no intention of buying sex prior to visiting Thailand end up doing so after they arrive.”

The University of California professor emeritus said the industry comprised a largely un-researched domestic sector and a growing tourist sector.

“The tourist-oriented sector has expanded significantly over the past decade,” he said, pointing to the emergence of Treetown as a new red-light district and three areas catering to foreign men seeking young Thai men.

The profile of foreign sex tourists had also changed dramatically “compared to 20 or 30 years ago”.

“In the past, the vast majority of sex tourists fit the stereotype of the middle-aged or old white man who sought sex with a younger woman in foreign lands,” he said.

“Those men are still attracted to places like Thailand, but a growing number depart from the stereotype, including Japanese, Korean and white men aged 25 to 40.”

Professor Weitzer said some tourists sought more than a purely physical encounter, paying for companionship and emotional intimacy through what is known as the “girlfriend experience” or “romance tourism”. Some Western expatriates ultimately formed long-term relationships with women they initially paid for sex.

The author of Sex Tourism in Thailand said minors were more likely to be found in street-based prostitution than established indoor venues.

“The owners and managers of brothels, massage parlours, go-go bars, and beer bars generally screen job applicants to make sure they are not minors or undocumented immigrants,” he said.

Although prostitution is illegal, Professor Weitzer said many businesses paid police protection money to operate openly, while still risking raids if minors or undocumented migrants were discovered.

“The owners and managers I interviewed regard this payment as a ‘tax’ that they are happy to pay in order to operate freely,” he said.

Professor Weitzer said the arrangement encouraged corruption and inconsistent enforcement, and argued full legalisation and regulation would allow authorities to vet operators, inspect premises and impose zoning controls while eliminating the protection-payment system.

He added that the teenager killed in Pattaya had been picked up in a street-prostitution area, where workers faced significantly greater risks than those in indoor venues.

Meanwhile, Australian researchers are increasingly concerned about the health risks associated with overseas sex tourism.

A recent Curtin University study found almost one in four Australian-born men surveyed after travelling to South-East Asia had bought sexual services.

Almost half had sex during their most recent trip, fewer than half consistently used condoms, and more than one-third of men who bought sex did not use a condom during their most recent commercial sexual encounter.

The participants averaged 47 years of age and were predominantly heterosexual, tertiary educated and employed full-time. Thailand was the most common destination.

For Mr Akrapongpanich, the bigger issue remains the children growing up in Pattaya.

“We have lots of child victims who are either direct or indirect results of sex tourism,” he said.

“We want the government to take courageous steps and put laws in place, not only for the sake of sex workers, but also for the future of the children.”

He had a simple message for Australians considering travelling to Thailand for sex.

“If the sex workers are willingly offering this kind of service in exchange of your money, then it’s fine,” he said.

“But also, you have to make sure that they are not underage.

“We are a decent and functional society here and just because Pattaya is recognised as Sin City, it doesn’t have to be perceived that everyone in Pattaya is a prostitute.”