Running ads for escort services and sexual aids got three Thai newspapers - a general news daily and two sports-oriented papers - fined Friday.
Siam Rath, Sports Poll, and Star Socce were fined equal to $750 for violating Thailand's Consumer Protection Act by publishing sex-related ads continuously, the Associated Press says. And a government spokesman says many comparable cases remain pending, with violators facing up to a year in jail.
The paradox is that while Thailand keeps stringent laws against sexuality in the news media, prostitution and nudity in nightspots are tolerated there.
Sexually-oriented advertising is said to tend toward picking up steam during economic struggles in Thailand, while general advertising has only begun reviving recently. Several Thai and English-language papers, the AP says, were forced to close due to revenue drops since the country's economic crisis started two years ago.
