Chiang Mai Masseuse Charged Over Miscarriage

A screenshot of security footage released by police shows the pregnant woman entering the massage parlor on Jan. 11 in Chiang Mai province.

CHIANG MAI — Police on Friday charged a traditional Thai masseuse with grievous bodily injury for allegedly causing a client to have a miscarriage.

The pregnant 26-year-old went into shock after receiving a massage at a shopping mall in January in Chiang Mai province. She’s remained hospitalized in a coma ever since, but police said a medical examination concluded that her condition resulted from abnormal blood flow related to the massage. Officers did not identify the suspect.

The incident took place Jan. 11 at a massage parlor run by a senior’s group in the Kad Suan Kaew shopping mall. The woman, who was six months pregnant, was admitted to a hospital where she went into a coma and miscarried.

Parlor owner Uenkaew Chaisri, 81, told the media that her staff initially declined to massage the client, but she insisted on being served.

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But Col. Piyapan Pattanapongsin, deputy commander of Chiang Mai police, said the masseuse would still be held responsible for consenting to break the rules.

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“The signs clearly say ‘No massage for pregnant women,’ yet the masseuse still gave the service,” Col. Piyapan said. “It’s like there’s a traffic sign saying not to enter, yet you still disobey it.”

While not a law, it’s a universal rule in Thai massage parlors that pregnant women or people with blood conditions should not be massaged. Injuries – and occasional fatalities – have taken place in the past.

In November, a man died of heart failure at a massage parlor in Pattaya.