The warning comes as a 23-year-old Russian streamer was handed down a jail sentence, deported and banned from re-entering Thailand for 99 years after filming himself having sex in the back of a speeding pickup truck on a public road in Phuket, in a case late last year that officials condemned as a “gross violation of local laws and moral norms”.
The man, widely identified in overseas media as Georgy Dzugkoev from Krasnodar, Russia, was convicted of public indecency and offences under the Computer Crimes Act after footage showing a naked foreign man and a Thai woman having sex in the open cargo bed of a black Ford Ranger Raptor on the bypass road in Rassada went viral last September.
Dzugkoev attempted to flee Thailand after the clip sparked outrage online but was intercepted at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sept 25 and flown back to Phuket to face prosecution.
Phuket City Police Chief Pol Col Chatri Chukaew said the suspect admitted he was the man in the video but denied having sex, claiming he was wearing underwear and that the footage only appeared explicit.
“The behaviour was deemed a public obscenity and severely insulting to Thailand. It also created a serious danger for other road users,” Pol Col Chatri said.
The Thai woman involved, a 42-year-old Rawai resident identified by police only as “Ms B”, told investigators she was paid B1,000 to take part in the filming and said she felt pressured by the Russian man despite fearing for her safety while the vehicle was moving. She was convicted of public indecency and sentenced to one year in jail.
Police also charged the Russian driver of the pickup with aiding and abetting a publicly indecent act, reckless driving endangering others and offences under the Computer Crimes Act. All foreign nationals convicted in the case will be deported after completing their sentences and blacklisted from re-entering Thailand.
TUK-TUK SEX
In a separate case highlighting what police described as an increasing pattern of behaviour, Kathu Police reported tracking down two French tourists who were filmed performing explicit acts on a moving tuk-tuk while crossing Patong Hill late last month.
On Jan 30, a media outlet posted footage under the headline “Full Show on a Tuk-Tuk”, showing foreign tourists engaging in indecent behaviour on a tuk-tuk while traffic followed behind them. The clip drew widespread condemnation from netizens, who said the act damaged Phuket’s image as a tourist destination.
Kathu Police said officers initially contacted the media outlet to identify the tuk-tuk involved and traced its route from Patong Beach to a hotel on Koh Siray, on the east side of Phuket Town.
Although the tourists were not located during the first visit, investigators and Tourist Police on Sunday (Jan 31) identified the female foreign tourist at a hotel in Ratsada and the male foreign tourist at a hotel in Cherng Talay.
Both were brought to Kathu Police Station and jointly charged with committing an indecent act in public likely to cause embarrassment by nudity or exposure of the body.
Police said further legal action, including visa cancellation and deportation, will be considered in line with immigration procedures.
Officers reiterated that public indecency is a criminal offence in Thailand and warned that foreigners who use Phuket as a backdrop for explicit stunts intended for social media face arrest, imprisonment, deportation and long-term bans from returning to the country.