Police will investigate a claim by a German national that he paid a one-million-baht bribe to authorities in exchange for his release from a paedophilia charge, police said on Sunday.
The investigation comes after a recent news documentary, Sex Tourists in Thailand, posted on the Deutsche Welle (DW) Documentary YouTube Channel. Access to the documentary is now blocked in Thailand.
One part of the video discussed a case of paedophilia involving a German national, Jens Kirch, 55, back in September 2022.
According to a report by Khaosod newspaper, the foreigner was arrested after a raid against a nightclub in Pattaya called Cobra Beer Bar on Sept 11, 2022.
The bar, owned by a British man and his Thai wife, is now closed. Both owners were arrested for child trafficking. Mr Kirch was arrested at his hotel room in Pattaya on Sept 24, 2022.
The German said he paid about 700,000 baht for bail and his legal fees and another one million baht in cash to officials before flying home to Frankfurt seven days after being charged.
In the documentary, he admitted to having sex with a minor whom he took to his hotel room from the bar.
He said he had to flee the country because he was afraid he would be treated unfairly by police.
Police said on Sunday that police will find out who took the bribe. The probe would take about seven days.
Meanwhile, a list MP from the Move Forward Party said the documentary presented factual information on sexual workers, in contrast with the Thai media which claims there are no prostitutes in Pattaya.
As sex workers are illegal, this creates a loophole for authorities to ask for bribes, he said.
Legalising sex work is one solution, he said, adding the workers would also benefit.
