Child porn website busted in Chiang Mai

Police prepare to enter a condominium in Chiang Mai to arrest the accused administrator of a child pornography website with more than 200,000 followers. (Photo from @TICAC2016 Facebook page)
Police prepare to enter a condominium in Chiang Mai to arrest the accused administrator of a child pornography website with more than 200,000 followers. (Photo from @TICAC2016 Facebook page)

The administrator of a child pornography website has been arrested in Chiang Mai.

Officers from the police and the Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children (Ticac) unit apprehended Korakot Chulthong at a condominium on Thung Hotel Road, Thai media reported on Saturday. They also seized three mobile phones, a laptop computer, two portable drives, some bank books and ATM cards.

Mr Korakot, 24, was wanted on charges of possessing child pornographic materials for sexual and commercial purposes and inputting pornographic data into a computer system accessible by other people.

The arrest followed complaints from parents and members of the public that an online group on the VK social media platform with 800 members and more than 200,000 followers was distributing video clips featuring sexual acts involving Thai children and foreigners.

VK (VKontakte) is a Russian social media and networking service. It is available in numerous languages but is mainly used by Russian-speakers. With more than 500 million accounts, it is the 12th most visited website in the world.

Ticac investigators found the group had been created in Russia and later bought by Thai investors, with Mr Korakot serving as an administrator. Reviews of more than 100 porn clips were posted on the group. Those who wanted to watch uncensored clips had to pay membership fees of 300 baht each.

Police posing as customers transferred membership fees to the administrator and later tracked the suspect to the condominium in Chiang Mai.

The suspect initially confessed to the charges, saying he had been running the site for about one year, officers said. 

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Vocabulary

  • accessible: that can be reached, entered, used, seen, etc - ที่สามารถเข้าได้
  • administrator (noun): someone whose job is to manage a business, organisation, institution or website - ผู้บริหาร
  • apprehended (verb): caught; arrested; caught by the police - ถูกจับ, โดนจับกุม
  • commercial: intended to be sold - ซึ่งมีจุดประสงค์เพื่อหวังกำไร
  • confess (verb): to admit that you have committed a crime - สารภาพผิด
  • investors (noun): people or organisations that invest money, i.e., use money with the aim of making a profit from it, for example by buying property or buying shares in a company - นักลงทุน
  • numerous: many - มากมาย
  • platform (noun): a type of media or way of distributing information , e.g., websites, newspapers, magazines, video, etc. -
  • pornographic: describing or showing naked people and sexual acts in order to make people feel sexually excited, especially in a way that many other people find offensive - ลามก
  • pose: to pretend to be something - วางท่า
  • seize: to take something using official power and force - จับกุม

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