Rayong Police Chief Reassigned After Raids on Chinese-Focused Karaoke Bars

The head of Pluak Daeng District Police Station, Pol. Col. Nawin Sinthurat, was suddenly moved to a non-operational post on Saturday. The reshuffle followed joint raids on four unlicensed karaoke venues suspected of covert prostitution and taking kickbacks.

The transfer order was signed by Rayong Provincial Police Commander Pol. Maj. Gen. Pramote Ngampradit, who reassigned Pol. Col. Nawin to the provincial police operations center.

The move came after a late-night crackdown on Friday led by Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee. Dubbed "Sing Prap Hong Lap," the operation targeted hidden entertainment venues across the district.

Questioning and inspections at the four venues found that none of them had valid business licenses. Two were caught actively offering secret sex services.

Officials said nearly all of the customers were Chinese nationals. The venues reportedly accepted only Chinese mobile payment platforms, WeChat Pay and Alipay, and refused Thai baht.

During the raids, venue managers admitted to paying middlemen monthly bribes of 10,000 to 30,000 baht to various government officials in exchange for looking the other way.

Anongnart Cheevananthakul, Director of Zone 2 at the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), confirmed that investigators have gathered evidence from the sites and opened a formal inquiry. The aim is to identify and prosecute any state officials who accepted the payments.