CHON BURI: Police have asked Bang Lamung district office to close the Pattaya hotel where international swingers were arrested over the weekend, and recommended the Chinese operator be fined the maximum 18 million baht for not having a hotel licence.
Pol Col Apichai Krobpet, chief of Pattaya police, said the Ban Tulip Hotel in Bang Lamung did not have a licence, as required under the Hotels Act of 2004.
The offence carries a jail term of up to one year, a one-time fine of 20,000 baht and a fine of up to 10,000 baht a day for the period of the hotel's illegal operation.
As the hotel had been open for about five years, the daily fines amounted to about 18 million baht, he said.
The hotel owner was identified as a Chinese national, Xeng-chai Yang, 53.
The examination of the hotel's operation followed the arrest of 28 swingers - 14 men and 14 women - in a room of the hotel in South Pattaya on Saturday night. They were interrupted indulging in sexual activities.
The swinging couples are nationals of Thailand, China, Malaysia, the US, Ukraine, Pakistan, Singapore, Canada, Cambodia and the Philippines, according to police.
They had reportedly paid 1500 baht (corrected) each to attend the organised event.
Mr Xeng-chai was also charged with hosting an obscene activity. Three hotel employees were charged with assisting in the offence.
One Filipino tested positive for drug use, and another foreigner had an overstayed visa, Pol Col Apichai said.
Police recorded the details of the other foreigners and then released them.