Sex in the Woodlands...Suk's Story

My name is Suk. I come from a poor family in a village of Thailand. When I was born, my mother left my father and remarried. However, my childhood was not pleasant as my mother and her husband were always fighting violently. At 15, I decided to run away to Bangkok. I found a job and continued my studies. My parents later came to Bangkok to look for me and to lodge with me. They were creating a problem again for my lodging house. My step father would get himself drunk and would quarrel and fight with my mother. I was ashamed of them and I left to stay with a friend. My friend then introduced me to nightclubbing where I learned to smoke, drink and consume drugs. Then I stopped schooling and at 19 became a sex worker in Bangkok.

My first customer was an elderly Thai man. He was kind and taught me on how to protect myself as a sex worker. He kept me for a few months. After which I started working at ‘karaoke’ sex worker outfits. As I became more experienced, I ventured to be a streetwalker and enjoyed more freedom in working hours and choice of customers. Mostly, we sex workers had our industry standards of rates and the types of services. However there have been times when I experienced danger. There was a time when the customer brought me to a strange place, assaulted me. I had to make a risky escape and survived the harrowing incident.

I stopped sex work for a year after my marriage and my pregnancy. However I had to return back to sex work to pay the debts of my husband. My friends persuaded me to consider Malaysia and Singapore where the money was better. So I decided to come to Singapore to ply my trade. From Bangkok I travelled with a friend all the way to Singapore by bus. It was a long and tiring journey. An agent in Singapore introduced me to the places where I could work. I chose to work in the forested areas where the services required were for ‘short time’ only. The customers were South Asian foreign workers who were not demanding and were somewhat afraid of the agent. The rate was $25 per customer for a 3-minute session. There were so many customers on queue for our service. I did not have to provide any other types of sexual favours other than penetration.

I was able to earn enough the first time to pay off the Singapore agent. Then I decided to come back to Singapore again to earn more for my family. During my few trips to Singapore, I was lured by an agent to work in Johor, Malaysia. The experience was quite bad as my friend and I were both locked in a hotel room and we were not even paid for our services. The customers also were not required to use condom. It was fortunate that I managed to escape the syndicate and return back to Singapore. I had no money and all I wanted was to earn enough so that I could return back to my family in Thailand. Unfortunately an incident happened and I was forced to stay on in Singapore as a prosecution witness for an extended period.

It happened one night in the Woodlands forested area where I was working. I heard the shouts of ‘Police! Police”! As I tried to get away, two soldiers apprehended me. One held me and the other left to catch other sex workers. I was left alone with the soldier. He started groping me and pulling at my pants demanding sex. I was afraid and confused. He told me that if I gave in to him he would let me go. At that moment, I thought of my child in Thailand and I wanted to go home. I was also frightened that he was a soldier with the means to kill and that the other soldiers would return to gang rape me. I had experienced sexual assault and past incidents in Thailand terrified me. At that moment, I gave in to his request and allowed him to satisfy his lust. After which he wanted sex from behind. This time, I adamantly refused. Then he left me. I crouched behind the bush for some 30 minutes waiting for a chance to escape. Unfortunately for me the other soldiers came back and arrested me with the other sex workers from the raid.

At the police station, I just cried as I felt that I have been taken advantage off by the soldier. In truth, I was raped but who could believe me, a sex worker?  When the translator heard my story, she advised me to inform the police-investigating officer. I did as advised and found myself being made the prosecution witness in a CPIB case against the ‘gurkha’. I thought then that I was doing what was right to prevent such incidents against other sex workers. The other sex workers caught that night faced a short sentence in prison and were promptly deported back to Thailand. As for me, though I really wanted to return to my family, I had to stay on till the court trial against the ‘gurkha.’ I waited for another 10 months and was housed by HOME, a charity welfare organization for migrant workers.

I was the only Thai resident and at first it was really difficult as I spoke hardly any English. The other residents were domestic workers and they were curious about my work as a sex worker. They laughed at my English and my type of work. I felt ‘bad’ and ashamed about my situation. After a while in the shelter, I was able to accept myself and took the opportunity to participate in the programmes provided for residents. I learned to speak and write English and learned the use of the computer. I was also made a room leader and I became happy as member of the HOME family.

I was relieved when I was called to court to be the prosecution witness against the ‘gurkha’ as I was looking forward to going home after the long wait. The ‘gurkha’ was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. However, instead of allowing me to return home, the CPIB officers decided to slap me with 3 charges including being party to the corruption charge. I was upset and felt betrayed by the CPIB officers whom I cooperated with to prosecute the ‘gurkha’. Why must I be victimised again?

Fortunately, HOME came to my defence with posting bail, arranging for a pro bono lawyer and providing me every support I needed, as I was being prepared for trial. In my first meeting with my defence pro bono lawyer, I was also told that the corruption charge was very serious and I could be imprisoned for 18 months like the ‘gurkha’. Thus it cost me another period of anxiety and uncertainty – should I plead guilty and be sentenced to jail or should I plead not guilty and go for trial and perhaps be prepared for a longer sentence, if convicted? The Royal Thai Embassy also came to my support and was with me during the difficult times. The Thai Ambassador also wrote a letter of plea to the A-G office. At the end of the ordeal, my lawyer, Mr. Loo Eng Teck negotiated with the Attorney General on the charge of corruption and pleaded in court for leniency on the other charges of trespassing and soliciting. Sr. Bridget, President of HOME finally obtained my freedom by paying my penalty fine of $700, so that I could smile again and free to return to my country. I really did not want her to pay my penalty, but she insisted because she could understand how much I have suffered as a victim in my lifetime.

My experience and the support of those who helped me along the way, have given me the resolve to begin my new life in Thailand. I do not wish to be a sex worker and have come to understand that at 23 years old, I should continue to study and to work with my newly acquired skills in other trades. I am now employed in a pharmaceutical retail outlet in Bangkok.

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