Immigration latest: Korean conman, Indian on overstay, 56 Chinese, illegal migrants, Austrian benefits' cheat

[webfact]

Daily News Thai Caption: Five important cases

 

Thailand's immigration chief Pol Lt-Gen Phakphoomphiphat Sajjaphan presided over a press conference to announce the latest crimes committed by foreigners within the kingdom and those wanted abroad, reported Daily News.

 

 

Case 1:

 

Immigration were contacted by the Korean embassy about a man named only as Boon Soo, 62, who had persuaded a compatriot that he could sell clothes for between 3 and 15 times more at 30 outlets in Bangkok.

 

Between May 2016 and March the following year a total of 3.5 billion won or 100 million baht was transferred to him. He was arrested.

 

 

Case 2:

 

Marco, 50, (an assumed name) was wanted by the authorities in the EU for social benefit fraud.

 

He allegedly committed seven crimes and was found in a hotel in Phangnga in the south and will be deported back to Austria. 

 

 

Case 3:

 

Cyber cobs (PCT) in cooperation with immigration arrested 56 Chinese nationals employed to run gambling websites named as "Hersing" and "Khai Yun" out of addresses in Suan Luang and Hua Mark in Bangkok. 

 

They were all on tourist visas and had been paid 40-70,000 baht a month to work on the sites that had 500 million baht in circulation.

 

They are being prosecuted under gambling laws.

 

 

Case 4:

 

Eighty eight illegal migrants were arrested in Prachuap Khiri Khan and Kanchanaburi.

 

This was the expansion of an inquiry that began in Pathum Thani.

 

Case 5:

 

Region 4 police and Surin immigration arrested an Indian man called Kamalesh, 30, (an assumed name) who was on overstay of 1,084 days.

 

He used to be in Pathum Thani but had fled trouble there and set himself up in the north east.

 

He claimed he was a "person of influence" and knew Thai police in order to extort money out of his compatriots.

 

The media said the public should call 1178 or contact the immigration website at www.immigration.go.th to report crime. 

 

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[bobandyson]

10 minutes ago, webfact said:

Cyber cobs (PCT) in cooperation with immigration

Please, no corny puns, ok?

[hellohello123]

I hope he's not insinuating that all crimes committed in thailand are committed by foreigners!

[Andrew65]

A price they pay for giving visas-on-arrival to anyone. If people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check, a very large number of people would be barred from visiting Thailand.

[SmokeandIce]

12 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

A price they pay for giving visas-on-arrival to anyone. If people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check, a very large number of people would be barred from visiting Thailand.

Requiring visitors to apply for a visa may catch a few undesirablea, but it will discourage many more honest tourists from applying and visiting

[wombat]

18 minutes ago, hellohello123 said:

I hope he's not insinuating that all crimes committed in thailand are committed by foreigners!

of course they are.

if they weren't here they wouldn't have happened.

[SymS]

Social benefits fraud must be rampant, but they are probably hard to catch. When I was still visiting Thailand as a tourist, a young European lady told me she negotiated her resignation with her employer in order to get her unemployment checks for a one-year trip around the world. All she was hoping was that the left stays in power as she thought they would not look into the validity of the claims as much...

[Andrew65]

2 minutes ago, SmokeandIce said:

Requiring visitors to apply for a visa may catch a few undesirablea, but it will discourage many more honest tourists from applying and visiting

"A few undesirables" I reckon it would be a lot more than a few, but as you say, it would have a big impact on tourist numbers. It would stop a lot of people with drugs convictions, probably even people who were busted for having a bit of pot *which to me isn't a big deal, but it's still a drugs conviction.

[TTSIssues]

My goodness, imagine if the police in UK, France, Germany or other western countries listed crimes committed by foreigners ! 

[Old Croc]

28 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check

Stated often here, but an obvious impossibility to insist every tourist must produce an up-to-date criminal record check every time they cross a border worldwide. 

Visa on arrival policies make it very easy for "bad guys" to enter a country, but expecting everyone applying for a visa to be clean also isn't foolproof.

[Andrew65]

Just now, Old Croc said:

Stated often here, but an obvious impossibility to insist every tourist must produce an up-to-date criminal record check every time they cross a border worldwide. 

Visa on arrival policies make it very easy for "bad guys" to enter a country, but expecting everyone applying for a visa to be clean also isn't foolproof.

I believe that is done if I as a Brit want an ESTA to travel to the States. The Embassy or a company contracted by it does it. I believe a drugs conviction disbars someone from visiting the USA,

[Artisi]

52 minutes ago, hellohello123 said:

I hope he's not insinuating that all crimes committed in thailand are committed by foreigners!

No, only crimes commited by non-Thai's who are here courtesy of Thailand provided they behave themselves, probably no different to the rules from wherever you come from. 

[ukrules]

50 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

A price they pay for giving visas-on-arrival to anyone. If people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check, a very large number of people would be barred from visiting Thailand.

For sure, also a very, very large number of people wouldn't bother coming.

 

Who really wants the hassle of applying for a visa to go on holiday - nobody.

 

People go the route of least resistance, if Thailand required visa applications then peole would simply go elsewhere and there's plenty of other places.

 

Also it wouldn't have kept any of these people the report is about out of the country.

[tandor]

4 hours ago, bobandyson said:

Please, no corny puns, ok?

I'm amaized you said that!

[tandor]

Just now, ukrules said:

For sure, also a very vary large number of people wouldn't bother coming.

 

Who really wants the hassle of applying for a visa to go on holiday - nobody.

 

People go the route of least resistance, if Thailand required visa applications then peole would simply go elsewhere and there's plenty of other places.

maybe means Visa Exempt..unsure of China is one on the list!

[Chongalulu]

46 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

A price they pay for giving visas-on-arrival to anyone. If people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check, a very large number of people would be barred from visiting Thailand.

They already have a severely damaged tourist industry. Are you suggesting they make travel even more difficult for the vast majority of tourists who will eschew travel here and exacerbate the problem?

[gaucan]

50 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

A price they pay for giving visas-on-arrival to anyone. If people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check, a very large number of people would be barred from visiting Thailand.

then they would lose their job, cuz will have nothing to do, sherlock

[mikeymike100]

56 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

A price they pay for giving visas-on-arrival to anyone. If people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check, a very large number of people would be barred from visiting Thailand.

The problem is if they did that, may genuine tourists wouldn't go to Thailand, getting a visa is sometimes a pain in the neck, getting a criminal record check would put a lot of folks off, even if they weren't criminals.

[BangkokReady]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's immigration chief Pol Lt-Gen Phakphoomphiphat Sajjaphan presided over a press conference to announce the latest crimes committed by foreigners within the kingdom and those wanted abroad

Is this going to be a regular thing?  Regular reporting of how awful and criminal foreigners are?  I'm sure that won't have any negative effects on foreigners in Thailand. ????

 

I guess someone needs a distraction.

[mikeymike100]

41 minutes ago, TTSIssues said:

My goodness, imagine if the police in UK, France, Germany or other western countries listed crimes committed by foreigners ! 

Yes it would hit the headline of every international news outlet, claiming xenophobia at best or even racism. ????

[ujayujay]

1 hour ago, Andrew65 said:

A price they pay for giving visas-on-arrival to anyone. If people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check, a very large number of people would be barred from visiting Thailand.

Yes Joker????????????

[sambum]

54 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

"A few undesirables" I reckon it would be a lot more than a few, but as you say, it would have a big impact on tourist numbers. It would stop a lot of people with drugs convictions, probably even people who were busted for having a bit of pot *which to me isn't a big deal, but it's still a drugs conviction.

A friend of mine was denied entry to the USA for the very same minor drugs charge. (Possession of marijuana) He put "None" on some paperwork, and was dragged off to Immigration at the airport and grilled for a "very serious crime"!!! And put on the next plane  home to Blighty!

[chang1]

1 hour ago, TTSIssues said:

My goodness, imagine if the police in UK, France, Germany or other western countries listed crimes committed by foreigners ! 

Albania is up in arms as it was suggested many crimes are being committed by Albanian asylum seekers. Then, soon after,  it was being widely reported that Albanian gangs are paying for illegal immigrants to enter the UK on condition they work for them.

[Anant72]

5 hours ago, bobandyson said:

Please, no corny puns, ok?

Ama(i)zing, no?

[MrJ2U]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

They were all on tourist visas and had been paid 40-70,000 baht a month

The average Thai would be drooling for those wages. 

[Exilerunner]

1 hour ago, hellohello123 said:

I hope he's not insinuating that all crimes committed in thailand are committed by foreigners!

We Foreigners bring disease and crime - That is the message. We don't see a report on Thai criminals, do we?

[Andrew65]

29 minutes ago, sambum said:

A friend of mine was denied entry to the USA for the very same minor drugs charge. (Possession of marijuana) He put "None" on some paperwork, and was dragged off to Immigration at the airport and grilled for a "very serious crime"!!! And put on the next plane  home to Blighty!

A while ago I watched a TV programme in the UK about the immigration people at Auckland Airport NZ. A guy had flown from the east coast  USA for a month or two in NZ. Anyway, the immigration people started questioning him about drugs, and he answered that he had smoked some pot 3 days or so earlier in the States. They put him straight on a plane back to the States, saying that they thought that there was a very big risk of him smoking pot in NZ.

[IamNoone88]

Hardly scratching the surface of crimes committed by foreigners in Thailand or those hiding in The Kingdom from crimes committed back home. 

[jingjai9]

 

 

This article certainly lets us know that the dog days of COVID lockdowns are over. First, the Thai government was worrying about the tourist industry and hard-working honest people losing money due to lack of visitors and now they are once again sounding off about foreigners. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. This is the big broadcast of xenophobia. They even have a cast of characters -  Big Joke, the hero vs. those evil foreign criminals.

 

It is unfortunate that these crimes are being committed by Non-Thais. Personally, I do not want to see one Thai person robbed, assaulted or cheated out of money.

 

To wit, my country, the USA has never compiled a list of Thai immigrants operating businesses in the US who hire Thai students or tourists who cannot legally work in the US and those business owners who hire them off the books and do not pay their fair share of taxes.

 

I understand there are now organizations online that connect Thai business owners with Thai or Lao nationals who will work in their US restaurants. I have never seen a non- Asian person serving at a Thai restaurant in the USA. I am not sure about other western countries, but would be interested to know. According to this source there are 5000 Thai restaurants in the USA. I would suspect the taxes evaded would amount to a sizeable piece of change.

 

https://www.themanual.com › Food & Drink

 Thai restaurants.Nov 18, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

[RichardColeman]

So, 146 out of 147 arrested were Asian. I feel a little under-represented as a white alien farang !