Pattaya-area officials closed a Pratamnak Hill gentlemen’s club for 30 days for operating illegally as part of a city sweep of bars and karaoke parlors.
About 50 Pattaya police and Banglamung District officers raided the Heaven Gentleman’s Lounge Club and Sport Feb. 3 after complaints the two-story house refurbished into a club was offering illicit drugs and prostitution.
Officers found more than 100 foreign men and Thai women dancing and partying around 7 p.m. Identification cards were checked and everyone tested for drugs, but only three women under 20 were found. No one tested positive for narcotics.
The Heaven Gentleman’s Lounge Club and Sport has been closed down for 30 days as part of a city sweep of bars and karaoke parlors.
A search of the second floor found well-decorated rooms, towels and plenty of fresh condoms, but no one engaging in any activity. Police found a used condom and a book detailing short-term rental of the rooms, and took it for evidence.
Manager Panadda Pansaeng, 36, said Heaven regularly held parties to entertain customers, but that the 40 women who worked there only sat with customers as they drank and no prostitution went on. The rooms were only for staff use, she insisted.
Lacking evidence, no sex-related charges were brought. But Heaven was closed for a month as it was operating without a license and had allowed people under 20 on the premises.
Later that night, the same officers raided 17 karaoke pubs in South Pattaya. Three clubs were found to be unlicensed and suspicions were raised about an apartment complex where rooms reportedly were being rented for 50 baht an hour. Again, no prostitution charges were brought.
