CHIANG MAI: A Japanese man was arrested on charges of sexually molesting several young boys aged between 9 and 13 at his guesthouse yesterday.
Armed with an arrest warrant issued by the Chiang Mai Provincial Court, authorities from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) raided room 103 of the guesthouse on Suriyawong Road in tambon Haiya of Muang district.
They entered the room and found the Japanese man.
The man, identified as Teruaki Matsubara, 49, was charged with having sex with a child under 13 years and performing obscene acts with a child under 15 years.
A police officer from Muang Chiang Mai station said the Japanese office of Interpol told the DSI the man had lured young boys for sexual acts and taken videos and photos of them.
The videos and photos were then posted online for viewing by people in Japan's gay community. The police officer said Mr Matsubara had also bought sex services from young boys. He paid them 150-200 baht. He had made many visits to Chiang Mai to molest children and could speak Thai.
In Chon Buri, a 33-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly procuring underage boys for American and European male tourists visiting Pattaya.
Yotsapon "James'' Surawichai was caught in a rented room in the South Pattaya area, tambon Nong Preu of Bang Lamung district, around 9pm on Tuesday by a police team led by Pol Col Kreetha Tankhanarat of Police Region 2. Police also found a small amount of crystal methamphetamine and unused condoms in the room.
The arrest came after police sent a foreign informant posing as a customer to contact Mr Yotsapon to buy sex from boys. The price was set at 8,000 baht.
When the suspect showed up with four boys, aged 14-16, and received the money from the customer, he was arrested. Mr Yotsapon admitted to having served as a sex agent, procuring boys for male foreigners, mostly American and European tourists, said police.
The sex service fee for each boy was 2,000 baht and he would give 500-1,000 baht to each boy providing the service. He kept the rest as his fee. He told police he looked for boys on beaches and in online games shops and lured them into the flesh trade.