DUBAI: A New Zeland man has been sentenced to three years in jail for organizing child sex tours in Thailand, the country's local press reported. The businessman, 48, was handed the jail term by the High Court in Auckland after being found guilty of the illicit actions last year in a trial. The man, whose name was not released under “name suppression” provisions, has previous convictions for indecent assault and sex with an underage boy. He was arrested in 2010 when an undercover police officer asked him for help in finding underage boys to have sex with in Thailand. Human rights organizations have condemned the actions of the man and say the use of trafficking in this manner should be given harsher sentences. One human rights advocate in Phuket, Thailand, told Bikyamasr.com that their efforts to stem this sort of “work” is hindered because “governments are unwilling to give real sentences for these crimes.” There are no official statistics for child trafficking in Thailand, but according to the activist, who asked not to be named as they are working on investigating brothels that employ children across the country, “the number has increased as foreign visitors continue to come to Thailand and expect to do and have what they want.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/QWtWV Tags: Children, New Zealand, Sex Tour, Thailand Section: East Asia, Human Rights, Latest News, Oceana
