Authorities have launched a search to locate a couple who was filmed having sex on a popular tourist beach.
The couple, believed to be tourists, were on Jomtien Beach in Pattaya, Thailand, in the early hours of the morning when they were seen putting on the shameless display.
Jomtien is just south of central Pattaya, a popular tourist destination famous for its seedy red light district bars and wild nightlife.
This incident, which first surfaced on social media on February 6, is the latest in a series of such incidents of couples having blatant public sex on the beach, which can result in heavy penalties if caught.
Despite people around and bright street lights, a couple, believed to be tourists, engaged in sexual activity on a beach in Thailand. People looked at them and laughed.
The pair are not the first couple to have sex on Pattaya beach, and it has become widely known that people fornicate after leaving nearby bars at this popular tourist spot.
In the one-minute video, the daring duo seemed not to care about each other’s presence: those filming laughed while pointing their phone at the couple.
Posted on Facebook this week, it posed the question: “Is this normal in Pattaya?”
Many people were shocked by the brazen act that the couple was doing.
‘Why not go to a hotel with such performances?’ one wrote.
‘What kind of people are these?’ said another.
The city’s Tourist Police are investigating the incident, but are concerned that the couple left the area a long time ago.
The stretch of beach where the couple was having sex now has two lifeguard tents, which were set up there two months ago but were not seen in the video, indicating it may have been filmed earlier.
The incident comes months after another couple outraged locals and officials over similar antics on the beach.
Public sexual acts are illegal in Thailand and people who give in to their urges can face up to five years in prison.
Despite the risk of incarceration, this has not stopped people from engaging in public sexual relations.
Pattaya Beach, Pattaya City, Thailand. The city is the second most visited in the country, after Bangkok, which is a two-hour drive north.
In May of last year, a woman was caught performing oral sex on a man.
The couple was under a streetlight on a public sidewalk and nearby there were workers setting up a stage.
In 2020, a Russian couple caught on camera having sex on a beach apologized to police.
Tourists Roman Grigorenko, 26, and Daria Vinogradova, 19, were also filmed in Pattaya on New Year’s Eve.
Once the couple left a bar, they headed to the beach and continued drinking before having sex.
Ms Vinogradova was filmed unbuttoning her jean shorts and then doing the same with Mr Grigorenko’s jeans.
The event lasted about 30 seconds before the tourists returned to their hotel.
The images were handed over to the police, who recruited five of their top officers to find the couple.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Piyapong Ensarn said at the time that the indecent act could “destroy” Pattaya’s good image among tourists.
The two lovebirds were arrested, at which point they apologized for any offense they had caused.
But the Russian tourists insisted they never saw anyone in their vicinity.
In the image, taken at Phuket airport, the two men are seen loading trolleys with bags.