PATTAYA: A 49-year-old Australian man was arrested in Muak Lek district of Saraburi province about 3am on Tuesday for allegedly promoting sex cruises with prostitutes on a Facebook page.
On Dec 6 last year Steven Allan Carpenter posted an advertisement on his Facebook account promoting his business, AUSTHAI Tours, which he allegedly described as a service arranging a six-hour chartered boat trip with prostitutes on board at a cost of between 38,000 and 50,000 baht, the source said.
A man pretending to be a potential customer contacted Mr Carpenter and requested the service.
The suspect agreed and asked the police spy to pay half the price as a deposit, which he did by transferring the money into a bank account given by the suspect, the source said.
The transaction record was used as evidence to obtain an arrest warrant from the Pattaya Provincial Court on June 16 on charges of procuring for prostitution and violating the computer crime law by publishing pornographic material online, the source said.
The suspect had fled from Pattaya and gone into hiding in Saraburi. He was returned to Pattaya to face charges.
On arrival in Pattaya for further questioning, Mr Carpenter faced additional charges of violating the law regulating types of work foreigners are permitted to do in Thailand, and overstaying his visa, the source said.
The police team was headed by Pol Lt Col Dulayaphat Techaphonchayasin.
An embed from Steve Carpenter's Facebook page. The alleged post offering sex cruises was not visible on Tuesday evening.