Agence France-Presse

BANGKOK - Thai health authorities said Wednesday they were banning "cosmetic castrations" of underage boys, after parents complained about teenagers seeking out the operation as a first step toward a sex change.

Thailand last week imposed a total ban on the procedure pending a review by a medical board. Under the new rules, boys under 18 will only be allowed to receive castrations to treat medical conditions, such as cancer.

The Medical Council of Thailand, a professional association that sets standards of practise for doctors, said adult men could still undergo castrations as part of a sex change operation.

But men will also now be required to undergo three psychiatric checks by different doctors before being allowed to begin gender reassignment surgery, the council's president, Somsak Lolekha, told government-run NBT television.

Somsak warned it could be difficult to enforce the ban, which takes effect immediately, at all the country's clinics, where castrations can be performed in as little as 20 minutes for a cost as low as 4,000 baht (130 dollars).

"Castrations of minors must be halted now," he said.

Amnaj Kussalanand, Medical Council secretary general, told AFP the organisation would meet Thursday to consider penalties for doctors who violate the ban.

Thailand is famously tolerant of transsexuals, known locally as "kathoey," or the third gender.

While they have traditionally been allowed roles in festivals and cabarets, they have in recent years sought to make inroads into mainstream society, and surgical sex changes have become more common.