Thailand to tax residents’ foreign income irrespective of remittance

[Georgealbert]

 

 

In a joint operation, Sakaeo Immigration Police intercepted a Thai woman allegedly hired to transport a Chinese national illegally across the Thai border from Cambodia. The arrest followed a tip-off from Cambodian sources, with authorities stating that the woman had been paid by a broker to assist in smuggling the man into Thailand.

 

The operation unfolded on October 29, when Sakaeo Immigration Police, led by Police Colonel Napattarapong Supaporn, received a report from Colonel Anothai Jindamanee of the Klong Luek Police Station. Intelligence from Cambodian informants indicated that a Chinese man planned to cross into Thailand through a natural channel near Poipet and travel to Bangkok.

 

Authorities were alerted to a black Mercedes-Benz C300e with Bangkok license plate, which was reportedly waiting at the Star Plaza near the Klong Luek border checkpoint in Aranyaprathet District. In response, Police Lieutenant Colonel Amornsak Saengwan and Police Lieutenant Colonel Pruek Chotiprukchukul mobilised an investigative team to collaborate with local police and military units.

 

Officers later spotted the Mercedes leaving the shopping plaza and heading toward a bypass road towards Bangkok. The vehicle was intercepted at a red light near Tha Kham intersection, where they detained the driver, identified as Ms. Sutthichan Chawintrametanon, 32, a resident of Bangkok. Inside the car, police found Mr. Chen Wangshuo, 28, from Jiangsu, China, who was carrying a Chinese passport without an entry stamp for Thailand.

 

During questioning, Ms. Sutthichan claimed she was merely hired to drive Mr. Chen from Star Plaza to Bangkok. Mr. Chen admitted to illegally crossing the border after paying a Cambodian broker 250,000 baht in transportation and facilitation fees. He recounted his journey from China to Vietnam, then Cambodia, and finally across the border into Thailand, intending to visit a friend in Bangkok.

 

The authorities detained both the driver and passenger and seized the Mercedes as evidence. They are conducting further investigations to determine if Mr. Chen has any criminal history or links to the “grey Chinese” networks operating in Thailand.

 

Picture courtesy of Immigration.

-- 2024-10-31