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Pornography is no longer openly displayed on Sukhumvit's pavements, but for how long?
The superintendent of the much-maligned Lumpini police district made a bold statement when asked about pornography recently. "I can guarantee it," Pol Col Sarawuth Jindakham said when asked if pornographic DVDs and VCDs would still be off the streets in six months' time.
NOT FOR SALE: Pirated VCDs displayed at a police press conference on Wednesday
After a recent series of articles in the Bangkok Post on the open sale of pirated pornography - including child porn and bestiality - along Sukhumvit Road between sois 3 and 21, Lumpini police came in for a storm of criticism from the public who were outraged they had failed to remove the offensive material and arrest the sellers.
It also prompted an outburst from the UN children's rights body that demanded the police and authorities take immediate action.
When the adverse media publicity reached a critical mass, the inevitable police "crackdown" followed and the explicit covers of pirated pornographic movies disappeared from Sukhumvit.
One seller, a Burmese man, was even cheeky enough to put up a sign at his stall reading, "NO HAVE SEXCY MOVIE".
Since Lumpini police started the crackdown on Oct 5, they have seized 555 pornographic movies from 13 stalls and made four arrests.
They have also seized pirated Hollywood films, sex aids and fake erectile dysfunction drugs.
Pol Col Sarawuth said his men acted after his superior officer, Pol Maj Gen Anuchai Lekbumrung, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5, ordered him to suppress the sellers of pornographic films, sex aids and toys along Sukhumvit Road and other areas under his control.
Three teams totalling 30 personnel were formed to crack down on pornographic and pirated movies. Two teams are under the command of Pol Lt Col Pirom Chantrapirom, and a third under the command of Pol Lt Col Verachai Potipabcha.
GONE: No porn displayed between sois 3 and 15.
"The area recently filled with porn, so we have to clean it up because it is ugly and offensive to many foreigners and Thais," Pol Col Sarawuth said.
After almost a month of the crackdown, the Sukhumvit porn-peddlers are taking a cautious approach.
The Burmese vendor who operates between sois 3 and 5 has taken away his "NO HAVE SEXCY MOVIE" sign and is selling porn again, but only to foreigners.
A Thai vendor near soi 5 said: "I used to sell it [pornography] but not any more. I don't want to take the risk and have trouble with the police."
A vendor between soi 5 and 7 who used to display porn movies said Lumpini police have been active lately.
"They come almost every day and warn me not to sell porn, otherwise I risk being arrested and fined.
"Now, if the police catch you with only one porn movie, you have to pay a 100,000 baht fine.
"It's not worth selling it. Some traders decided to quit for a while because they can't make money by selling only pirated movies. Porn is their main source of income."
Pol Col Sarawuth said the three units he set up are in a "kind of competition" to seize the pornography and arrest the sellers. They also received help from Metropolitan Police Division 5.
They use undercover Thais and foreigners to snare the sellers, and also employ the element of surprise, such as launching raids on Police Day, which fell on Oct 13.
Vendors assumed they would take the day off to attend official ceremonies.
But the biggest weapon police can employ are heavy financial penalties which drive the vendors out of business. While the penalties for displaying obscene material are relatively light, those for selling films without a licence are much stiffer.
STILL TRADING: Pirated discs remain on sale at Pantip Plaza
Whether or not a disc is inside the displayed cover also determines the severity of the penalty.
''We can charge them under the Film and Video Act, which has been in force since June 2008, and carries a fine of between 100,000 baht and 500,000 baht, and possibly with Section 287 [display of obscene material] of the penal code with a punishment not exceeding three years in jail or a fine not exceeding 6,000 baht, or both, Pol Col Sarawuth said.
''If we seize only an obscene cover, we will charge them under Section 287, but with the disc inside we will add the Film and Video Act [offence] of selling without a licence.
''Previously, we charged them only under Section 287, so they didn't care, but no one wants to sell five discs for just 500 baht and end up paying a 100,000 baht fine.''
Pol Col Sarawuth added that bail in such cases is usually 50,000 baht, but can be set higher if police think the suspect is a flight risk. He also noted the law does not allow police to arrest the buyers of pornography.
Pol Col Sarawuth said he is working closely with government agencies such as the Department of Intellectual Property and private companies, including copyright owners, on a daily basis to help stop piracy.
The director of the DSI's Intellectual Property Crime Bureau, Pol Col Pravesana Mulpramook, said his staff mainly investigate big cases and can only act if a complaint is made.
''We need a complaint for every case. As for porn, we can't seize it because there's no complainant.
''If the pirated movies come together with the porn, we can seize it as well. We can't seize porn but we can inform the police.
''We also cannot act on a complaint from a private citizen, but the police have the authority to seize goods under Article 287 of the Criminal Code [obscene publication], even without the actual disc.
''The pirates don't care what they put on a disc. They make everything whether its Hollywood movies, porn or software.''
Pol Col Pravesana said porn was the responsibility of local police, not the DSI.
''Some of the porn movies come from websites,'' he said. ''The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology can block such websites.
''We can't do it but we can send recommendations to the ministry.''
Pol Col Sarawuth suspects an organised crime gang is behind the pornography trade, a suspicion borne out by one vendor who was recently arrested and fined.
''My boss takes care of everything, with my stall and the others,'' the vendor said.
''She even paid bail of 100,000 baht after I was arrested by Lumpini police and a big fine imposed by the court afterwards.''
He declined to say how much the fine was or whether he had to repay the woman, but he did say the boss later got her money back.
He said he was arrested by five policemen who jumped from a pick-up truck after he handed a DVD to a European-looking man. They took him to Lumpini police station.
''They came so quickly that I didn't have a chance to run away. Normally, when warned by other sellers that the police are around, I can walk away and wait until they leave the area. I have to be careful. Now I won't sell porn any more,'' he said.
He also complained that police won't touch porn sellers in Pantip Plaza as it is owned by a wealthy person.
One major porn distributor at Pantip interviewed on Oct 4, said police had ordered porn vendors across Bangkok to stop selling, or face arrest.
''The police told everyone that they can't sell until January,'' he said. ''Some big sellers offered money to the police who this time refused to take it.
''Despite my special connection [he claimed to be under the protection of someone higher than the police] I am still careful and only sell to regular customers.
''I told my people on the ground floor and second floor to be careful when approaching potential buyers.
''I will now phone my customers when new porn movies are coming and set up an appointment here.
''I won't sell porn outside Pantip because here it is safe for me.''
He said when police tried to run a suppression campaign against piracy several years ago, sellers asked customers to choose porn from a catalogue and then pay. The discs were sent to them by registered mail.
''I hope it won't come to that again because it's difficult to make money. Many people don't like to give out their address,'' he said.
Pol Col Sarawuth from Lumpini said local vendors are using foreign sellers from Burma, Laos and India as fall guys.
''As we change methods to catch the vendors, they change the way they sell as well,'' he said.
''Local vendors do not care what happens to the foreign seller _ whether he has to go to jail due to an inability to pay the fine or whatever.''
Asked why it had taken Lumpini police so long to clear the porn and sex toys off the streets, Pol Col Sarawuth said the police have been busy.
From July to September they were cracking down on ''all sorts of crime'' from sois 3 to 21.
They were concentrating on counterfeit products such watches, and fashion and leather goods.
''There were only few stalls offering pirated videos with porn, mainly hidden,'' he said.
''Because we put a lot of pressure on them at that time, they stopped selling the counterfeit goods and concentrated on pirated and porn videos instead.
''The number of stalls along Sukhumvit Road was increasing, and so were pirated and porn videos, with child porn which has recently been added.
''Many vendors have been selling various illegal products along Sukhumvit Road for many years, and once you stop them selling one product, they will quickly change to others.
''This is what happened during our suppression campaign.''
The history of pirated DVDs
Piracy started in Thailand about 15 years ago, most notably with pirated copies of Microsoft Windows 95 and music CDs.
Pol Col Pravesana Mulpramook, director of the Intellectual Property Crime Bureau at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said video players, personal computers and notebook computers were getting cheaper, creating a huge market for VCDs and DVDs.
"Piracy developed into a big business," he said.
"Businesspeople came from Taiwan and China about 12 to 15 years ago and opened factories to produce pirated CDs, VCDs and DVDs.
"They imported copying machines illegally and sent the DVDs and CDs to big distribution centres at Khlong Thom, Siam Square and other locations where small operators buy to sell everywhere, whether in Bangkok or up-country.
"At that time, the United Wa State Army also produced pirated movies, including porn smuggled through Tachilek and Mae Sai to be distributed in Thailand," Pol Col Pravesana said.
"Large Thai music and movie companies which obtained a licence from the copyright owners might order 5,000 copies of a certain movie but produce extra copies to be sold more cheaply on the street.
"The extra production is usually done at night.
"Some traders also smuggle DVDs from neighbouring countries. That's why the price for pirated DVDs is low - 80 to 100 baht each, or less.
"In one case, we arrested a Thai man and seized almost 500,000 DVDs which he kept in storage in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom province. He smuggled in the DVDs from a neighbouring country in the south."
Pol Col Pravesana said the companies producing DVDs under licence make them on machines that cost over 10 million baht, and can produce about 15 copies a minute.
"You just insert polycarbonate into the machine and it will make the disc and copy the movie at the same time.
"Some offenders also buy duplicators, each with 11 slots - one for the original disc and 10 for making copies - which will take about four minutes for music and about seven for DVDs.
"You can connect several duplicators to increase production."
Each machine costs about 20,000 baht and can be bought legally: "At Ban Mo, they can sell three pirated movies for 100 baht and still make a profit. That's because they use duplicators that can produce thousands of copies in 24 hours.
"These days, people can download movies and music from the internet, so the days of street sellers hawking pirated movies might be numbered."
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