Child safety group condemns underage pole dancing

"Arranging for a girl aged under 14 years to be a pole dancer is a legal offence," the committee's member Wallop Tangkananurak said yesterday, "and any company or person who organises a pole dance by underage girls will be punished."

On Thursday, the Culture Watch Centre announced it had received complaints that a prepubescent girl had been dancing provocatively around a pole at a motor show.

The centre's director Ladda Tangsupachai believed the girl, who was filmed in video clips, was about 10 years old.

Ladda added that there were also reports of poledancing underage girls at temple fairs.

Article 26 of the Children Protection Act bars anyone from forcing, coercing, encouraging or allowing children to perform an obscene show.

Offenders are punishable by a fine of Bt30,000 and/or a threemonth jail term.

Wallop suggested that firsttime offenders face warnings and repeated offenders should be fined and perhaps jailed too.

"Companies paying underage girls for pole dances and the girls' parents should also be condemned," he added, "No such cases should happen again".

Wallop urged anyone who saw the violating of children's rights to contact nongovernmental organisations in the field.

"Please help look after our society," he said.