This term is used in adult entertainment venues - mainly in Asia - and defines a fee paid by a customer to allow a prostitute leaving their work before her shift ends or a fee paid to waive her contractual obligation to perform her duty during working hours - usually dancing or performing other tasks such as serving drinks. The term barfine is mostly used in agogo bars, music lounges (KTV) and massage parlors in Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam.
It compensates a bar for lost revenue occured during a workers shift in her absense. In the Philippines - where barfines are considered legally questionable - the term might be replaced by expressions such as early work release or special lady drink. The normal barfine fee is usually calculated on basis of 10 times the amount of one regular lady drink.
A lady drink is a beverage a customer of a bar pays to an employee to be able to sit with him/her. Usually, a barfine is just a compensation for the bar, but depending on local modus operandi it may also include in part a fee for sex services that are supposed to be provided. In places like Pattaya, Bangkok, Manila sex workers demand an additional fee (tip) for rendering services as a prostitute while it is included in Angeles City and Subic Bay, Philippines. However, this is not legally binding contract for sexual services as prostitution might be considered immoral or illegal, however it is widely accepted between consenting adults.
