The superintendent of Pluak Daeng District Police Station, Pol. Col. Nawin Sinthurat, was abruptly transferred to an inactive post on Saturday following joint raids on four illegal karaoke bars accused of hosting illicit activities, including fronting prostitution and accepting kickbacks.
The transfer order, signed by Rayong Provincial Police Commander Pol. Maj. Gen. Pramote Ngampradit, moves Pol. Col. Nawin to the Rayong Provincial Police Operations Centre.
The directive comes after an abrupt raid on Friday night led by Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee under Operation "Sing Prap Hong Lap" targeting hidden entertainment venues in the district.
Interrogations and inspections at the four venues revealed that all were operating without valid business licenses, with two caught actively offering hidden prostitution services.
Authorities noted that nearly 100 percent of the clientele were Chinese nationals, and transactions were conducted exclusively through Chinese digital payment platforms WeChat Pay and Alipay, rejecting Thai baht.
During the raids, venue managers admitted to paying monthly bribes ranging between 10,000 and 30,000 baht to various state officials through middle-men to turn a blind eye to their illegal operations.
Anongnart Cheevananthakul, Director of Zone 2 of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), confirmed that official investigators have collected evidence from the scenes and launched a formal inquiry to identify and prosecute any state personnel involved in accepting bribes.
