Chuwit Kamolvisit (born August 29, 1961) is a controversial Thai

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 politician who was once the country's biggest massage parlor

Massage parlor

A massage parlor is a business where customers can receive a massage. Sometimes the term is synonymous with brothel as the term "massage" may be used as a euphemism for paid sexual favours....

 owner. After an arrest in 2003, he went public with his claims of having paid large bribes to hundreds of police officers. He then sold some of his massage parlors, formed his own political party and unsuccessfully ran for Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 governor in August 2004. In 2005 he was elected for a four-year term to the Thai House of Representatives

House of Representatives of Thailand

The House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Thailand is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai Government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy. The system of the Thai...

, but in 2006 the Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court of Thailand

The Constitutional Court of Thailand is an independent Thai court originally established under the 1997 Constitution with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, draft legislation, as well as the appointment and removal of public officials and issues regarding...

 removed him from parliament. In October 2008 he again ran for governor of Bangkok as an independent but was not elected. In the July 2011 general election his party won four seats in the House of Representatives.

Chuwit is the son of a Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

-born Chinese

Thai Chinese

The Thai Chinese are an overseas Chinese community who live in Thailand. Thailand is home to the largest, oldest, most prominent, and most integrated overseas Chinese community in the world with a population of approximately 9.5 million people...

 father and a Thai

Thai people

The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...

 mother. He has sometimes used the pseudonym Davis Kamol. He graduated from the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy at Thammasat University

Thammasat University

Thammasat University , or in brief TU , is Thailand's second oldest university. Officially established on 27 June 1934, the university was originally named by founder Pridi Banomyong, University of Moral Science and Politics , reflecting the political fervor of the time...

, and then earned a Master of Business Administration degree in San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

. He is divorced from his American wife, who lives in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 with their two children.

Business and allegations

Chuwit controls the Davis Group, which owned six luxurious massage parlors near Bangkok's Ratchadaphisek Road: Copacabana, Victoria's Secret, Honolulu, Hi Class, Emmanuelle and Julianna, employing some 600 women. The Davis Group's holdings also include the Davis Hotel and shopping mall on Sukhumvit

Sukhumvit Road

Sukhumvit Road , or Thailand Route 3 , is a major road in Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities it winds through. It follows a coastal route from Bangkok to Trat and is just over in length....

 Soi

Soi

Soi is the term used in Thailand for a side-street branching off a major street . An alley is called a Trok .Sois are usually numbered, and are referred to by the name of the major street and the number, as in "Soi Sukhumvit 4", "Sukhumvit Soi 4", or "Sukhumvit 4", all referring to the fourth soi...

 24. Annual revenues have been estimated at about 1 billion baht

Thai baht

The baht is the currency of Thailand. It is subdivided into 100 satang . The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand.-History:The baht, like the pound, originated from a traditional unit of mass...

.

These massage parlors cater mainly to wealthy Thais and operate in a gray area of the law; massage parlors are legal, but prostitution is not. Inside the parlors, some masseuses sit behind a glass window; others wait in a lounge or may be viewed via closed-circuit TV. Once a customer has chosen a masseuse, the couple retire to a room, where he is bathed and the masseuse performs a foam massage using her naked body. This is generally followed by sexual relations. Prices are from 2000 to 5000 baht for a two hour session. Chuwit once claimed in an interview that he was ignorant about what happens in the rooms; however, he has since admitted that prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

 does take place in his parlors.

In January 2003, Chuwit was accused of having hired some 600 men to raze several bars, shops, a laundry and a travel agency on "Sukhumvit Square", a plot of land he owns at Sukhumvit Soi 10. This was an apparent attempt to remove the low rent tenants so the land could be developed. The tenants had been led to believe they had valid leases from another company and were not notified of the raid, which took place very early on a Sunday morning. Chuwit was arrested and spent a month in jail. He denied responsibility and was finally released on bail.

Angry that police dared to arrest him, he publicly released the amounts of bribes he had regularly paid in the past, along with names of the high ranking police recipients. He put the total amount of bribes at 200 million baht over 10 years, but has since suggested it was closer to 12 million baht. He also claimed that "VIP" policemen received free service in his parlors (an allegation that was later confirmed by interviewing some of the masseuses.) Following an investigation, several prominent policemen were suspended or demoted. Chuwit also accused his prison wardens of having accepted bribes from him.

Shortly after his revelations, Chuwit disappeared for two days. He claimed he had been abducted and abused by police; however, others believe he had staged his own disappearance.

In reprisal, Chuwit's massage parlors were raided and some of his bank accounts frozen. He was also charged with procuring minors for prostitution because three masseues under the age of 18 were found working in one of his parlors. He was acquitted in June 2004, as the court found the girls had used forged ID cards and Chuwit could not be held responsible. The same month, Chuwit sold three of his parlors, saying that police harassment had made operations difficult for him.

The Nation

The Nation (Thailand)

The Nation is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper founded in 1971 and published in Bangkok, Thailand, and is owned by the Nation Multimedia Group.The Nation is a member of the Asia News Network...

, an English language Thai newspaper, chose Chuwit, along with Pornthip Rojanasunand

Pornthip Rojanasunand

Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunand, also spelled Porntip Rojanasunan, M.D. is a Thai forensic pathologist, author, human rights activist, and cancer survivor....

 and Chote Wattanachet, as persons of the year for 2003.

In a February 2004 interview, Chuwit claimed that he had paid Thai policemen to clear his Sukhumvit Soi 10 property. When the issue became public, the police had allegedly demanded more money, which he refused to pay. They turned against him, and he revealed his bribe payments in response.

In July 2006, after a three-year trial, Chuwit and 130 associates were acquitted of the charge of razing the bar area; however, a corporate lawyer was sentenced to 8 months in prison for having paid members of the Army Corps Of Engineers to destroy the businesses. Chuwit converted the area on Sukhumvit Soi 10 into a public park named Chuwit Park or Chuvit Garden

Chuvit Garden

Chuvit Garden is a public park in Bangkok, at Sukhumvit Soi 10. It was created in 2006 by Chuwit Kamolvisit who owns the area. The block was formerly known as Sukhumvit Square....

 for about 100 million baht.

Political career

In September 2003, Chuwit formed his own political party, called First Thai Nation. In April 2004 he announced that he was running for governor of Bangkok. He planned to spend about 20 million Baht on his campaign, with corruption in the police and government as his main campaign topic. The Bangkok governor elections were held on August 29, 2004. Chuwit placed third, with some 300,000 votes, or about 16% of the vote.

For the 2005 legislative elections

Thailand legislative election, 2005

General elections were held in Thailand on 6 February 2005. With a turnout of 60.7 percent, the Thai Rak Thai Party of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won a landslide victory. Out of 500 seats in the House of Representatives, Thaksin's party won 374 seats, with its former coalition partner, the...

, Chuwit merged his party with the conservative Chart Thai Party

Chart Thai Party

Thai Nation Party , also known as Chart Thai, was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and the Matchima party, for having violated electoral laws in the Thai general election, 2007...

. He ran successfully as a party list candidate, becoming a member of parliament in this way.

In May 2005 he began hosting a weekly call-in radio show, during which he listened to complaints from the public.

In January 2006, however, the Constitutional Court revoked his MP status. A candidate must be a member of a political party for at least 90 days before the general election and the court found that Chuwit had not joined Chart Thai in time.

In 2008, he again declared his candidacy for the Governorship of Bangkok. As was the case in 2004, he placed third. He admitted that his campaign may have suffered when he beat up a journalist who supposedly described him as "unmanly".

In May 2011 Chuwit formed a new political party, "Love Thailand

Rak Thailand Party

The Rak Thailand Party is a political party in Thailand. It was founded in 2011, by Chuwit Kamolvisit, a major massage parlor owner. In campaign for the 2011 general election, the party was noted for its anti-corruption and protest canvass, presenting leader Chuwit as the "Angry Man"...

" (Rak Prathetthai). In the 2011 Thai general election, the party won four seats in the House of Representatives. He had campaigned as a protest candidate and anti-corruption watchdog.

External links

• GlobalPost Interview with Chuwit, 2010
• Bangkok Post biography of Chuwit, 2004
• The Nation, Thai newspaper in English. Searching for "Kamolvisit" yields some twenty pages of results; all articles can be read for free.
• Chuwit Kamolvisit News, from 2Bangkok.com
• Thai sex tycoon rubs cops the wrong way, Asia Times, 23 July 2003
• Chuwit Kamolvisit – Thailand’s King of Sex turns politician