Amateur sex videos, whether made for intentional distribution or 'stolen', often make their way onto the Internet and into the hands of porn peddlers
"DVD, DVD, SEXY DVD.
YOU WANT SEXY DVD?"
If you've ever walked along Silom Road at night you've probably heard those words from young men lined up from Soi 2 all the way past Pat Pong.
The more subtle ones may just flash a card in their palm that reads: "Sexy DVD". The more aggressive grab you by the arm and tempt you with voyeuristic naughtiness. You have to pull away and say "No" at least three times before they leave you be. Indeed, porn is an aggressive business.
"The most popular DVDs these days are the amateur ones, especially stolen clips," said a young porn peddler on Silom Road.
Throughout the world, amateur sex videos are no longer a private matter. Long gone are the days where an adventurous couple film themselves and keep the footage for their own viewing pleasure.
Blame it on the Internet and the human penchant for exhibitionism.
The Internet porn industry is a billion-dollar-a-year business, and while there are no figures for the amateur Internet porn industry, it's definitely on the rise.
Earlier this year, ABC news reported on the growing phenomenon of amateur porn, featuring a story about a couple that work normal jobs, but make amateur movies together for a web site that pays them between $500 and $600 per month.
In Thailand, amateur porn made its mark on the public consciousness last year with the web site Camfrog.com, where young girls are paid to strip, chat and tease via webcam.
Whether it's Silom Road, Khlong Thom or a certain infamous shopping complex on Petchaburi Road, the supply of "sexy DVDs" is always in abundance, as the product is never short on demand. The latest of these is Pi, Pi ... Four Mod, Four Mod.
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DON'T FORGET TO CLOSE
THE CURTAIN
In July last year, RS Promotions singing duo Sakolrat Wora-urai (Four) and Chutimon Chairat (Mod) were on a concert tour in Khon Kaen province. Staying at the Ruenrom Hotel, both were secretly filmed while showering (separately).
Over the past few weeks, the video clips have made their way to the porn peddlers of Thailand and onto the World-Wide Web, causing a sensational scandal that resulted in these two sweet young girls weeping at a press conference and attracting the attention of social campaigner Pavena Hongsakul of the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women.
The video clips were allegedly filmed by three men, Theerachai Moonrat, 28, Wicharn Pathiranant, 34, a cook at the hotel, and Rungroj Tansiri, 32, a hotel security guard. They turned themselves in to Pavena, but claimed to have lost the mobile phone that allegedly filmed the shower interludes.
A police investigation is pending.
Sex videos leaking on to the Internet and to porn peddlers is nothing new. You may remember the scandal that rocked Asia's entertainment industry in general, and Hong Kong in particular. In January this year, Hong Kong star Edison Chen went into self-imposed exile from the industry in disgrace when photographs and video clips of him having sex with various Hong Kong actresses were leaked onto the Internet.
In Thailand, the first recorded sex tape scandal dates back to 2003, and involved a university lecturer and former New Aspiration party advisor having sex with the daughter of a well-known politician. The scandal was known as the "hi-so sex video".
The latest scandal occurred just last week, when reports circulated that the four female singers that make up RS Promotions' Girly Berry have also become the victims of secret video taping.
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CONVERSATION WITH
A PORN PEDDLER
"The Four Mod DVD goes for 200 baht," said the young porn peddler on Silom Road. According to him, the clip contains only a few minutes of each girl having a shower.
Is a few minutes worth 200 baht?
"Well, it's very rang," said the source. "Rang" normally refers to strong or graphic, but in this case, he also means that "it's the hot and scandalous item of the moment and there's plenty of demand for it".
And the Four Mod clip isn't the only one on the DVD.
The DVD in question is the fourth production by "Pirates Production", which in the spirit of Thai entrepreneurship features on the cover a photo of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow from the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean.
"You won't know what it is unless you watch it," the young peddler grinned.
According to the source, the DVD has two hours of content, and each segment lasts between one and three minutes.
"Most of them are clips made by amateurs," he said.
"Boyfriends and girlfriends. Students. Bosses and secretaries. Cheating husbands and wives. All sort of affairs. And yeah, monks. Monks filming themselves having sex. They love it."
Are they all Thai? Yes, they are, he answered. "And most of these clips they just film themselves. Using a mobile phone camera or a camcorder."
The question then is, do these people leak the clips themselves?
"I guess many of them do. It's the guys. If you watch the DVD, you see the guy convincing the girl to be filmed. He promises he won't show it to anyone, and films it so that his face won't show," explained the young man, who has obviously seen many of the sex clips.
Otherwise, he admitted, there are clips filmed secretly - whether in a bathroom, a changing room or a car - and cautioned that when you take your mobile phone or computer for repair, make sure that you delete everything "personal".
As to who compiles these clips together onto a DVD, the source confessed ignorance. "We get them in a box and we sell them, just like everyone else," he said, gesturing to the vendors selling clothes, accessories, watches, non-pornographic DVDs, and music CDs one may find in the business district of Bangkok.
A VOICE FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
According to Paveena Hongsakul, victims of sex video clips are as young as 12 or 13. She said that the Paveena Foundation for Women and Children receives an average of one or two complaints a week about sex video clips.
"The problem covers both adults and children," said Paveena. "It has become something fun for underage kids. They see bad things in society, they see things on the Internet, they see the sordid and scandalous things and they become exploited by it. They copy the acts and do it themselves."
Like the young porn peddler on Silom Road, Paveena also cited many cases where girls are pressured by their boyfriends into performing for the camera, after being promised it will never be released. But once they break up, the boyfriends use the clip as an act of revenge - either making it public or sending it to their girlfriends' new boyfriends.
"Most of the people who do this aren't poor. They have social status, are educated and can buy expensive mobile phones. But they lack souls."
An issue worth noting is that there is a one-year statute of limitations for these cases under Thai law. In the Four Mod case, where the crime of filming was committed over a year ago, the limitation has run out. However, leaking the footage is another crime and, since it happened recently, it is still subject to prosecution.
Paveena insisted that the one-year statute should be changed, and if it is not, then the perpetrators must be held responsible by society: "We have to let the public know who they are, and make them accountable," she said.
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