webfact Posted April 20 Posted April 20 Picture courtesy of Daily News In a recent crackdown by Thai immigration authorities, a foreign female teacher was apprehended in Samut Sakhon for illegally offering online Thai language lessons without the necessary teaching licence. This arrest comes as part of a broader initiative by the Immigration Bureau to enforce regulations against illegal employment and protect domestic job opportunities. Colonel Pokchat Chaisukwattana, the head of Samut Sakhon's Immigration Office, led the investigation and subsequent arrest. He revealed that the teacher had been conducting online lessons through popular platforms such as Facebook and Zoom. Her classes focused on basic Thai reading, writing, and conversational skills, drawing more than 100,000 followers online. These courses, which spanned over two months, were held every Friday and Saturday for two hours, with a tuition fee of 1,500 baht per participant. The investigation into her activities revealed significant interest in her courses, as many expats and foreigners living in Thailand seek to learn the language for better integration and communication. However, her lack of a legitimate teaching licence made her operations unlawful under Thai regulations regarding foreign workers. Colonel Pokchat emphasised that the arrest is a part of ongoing efforts to curb illegal employment and ensure that foreign nationals adhere to the legal frameworks governing their work in Thailand. Authorities discovered that the teacher was officially permitted to stay in the country with a work visa exclusive to manual labour roles, strictly prohibiting her from teaching or engaging in other professional activities without proper authorisation. Charges have been filed against her for "working without a licence" and "working outside authorised employment categories." The consequences are severe, including potential fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 baht and immediate deportation. Additionally, the Immigration Bureau plans to revoke her rights to reside in the country. Thai legislation, specifically the 2017 Management of Foreign Workers Act, clearly outlines that foreigners engaging in work without the correct permits face significant legal repercussions. Employers who hire unlicensed foreign workers are also subject to fines between 10,000 to 100,000 baht per worker. Repeat offenders may face up to one year in prison, further fines between 50,000 to 200,000 baht, or both, alongside a three-year ban on hiring foreign workers. This case underscores the importance for foreign nationals in Thailand to ensure their employment activities are fully compliant with local laws. It also highlights the ongoing measures by Thai authorities to protect local jobs while maintaining a regulated environment for foreign workers. Picture courtesy of Daily News Adapted by ASEAN Now from Daily News -- 2025-04-21 1 4 1 1
Popular Post ikke1959 Posted April 20 Popular Post Posted April 20 Maybe a better THai teacher than ones in schools... 5 2 2 1 4 2 2
Popular Post simon43 Posted April 20 Popular Post Posted April 20 3 minutes ago, ikke1959 said: Maybe a better THai teacher than ones in schools... Maybe. I used to teach spoken and written Thai to several of my online students in Germany and France. I also taught written Thai as a volunteer teacher at the Burmese school on Koh Phangan a couple of years ago. I will carry the guilt of these criminal offences for the rest of my life 🙂 1 2 1 25
Popular Post Tropicalevo Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 1 hour ago, simon43 said: Maybe. I used to teach spoken and written Thai to several of my online students in Germany and France. I also taught written Thai as a volunteer teacher at the Burmese school on Koh Phangan a couple of years ago. I will carry the guilt of these criminal offences for the rest of my life 🙂 I wonder what the statute of limitation is for those heinous crimes. 1 4
Popular Post CMFarang Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 The only teachers I have found to help me add to my Thai skills all carry foreign passports. I found the Thai courses given by Thais very regimented and focused on topics, week by week , such as police one week , hospitals the next I found basic communication skills , followed by 3 years of learning Nouns and the Verbs was helpful. Schools didn't focus or were willing to help with the areas of the language I wanted to learn. PS books were useless ( before the internet days ) Now we have apps that are somewhat useful , but often incorrect. 1 2 2
Popular Post bunnydrops Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 I hope she only gets a slap on the hand and is told not to do it again. Yes, illegal, but a needed service. 2 6
NativeBob Posted April 21 Posted April 21 very, very difficult to prove. She should ask 'em to go whistle. 1
Popular Post jcmj Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 Sounds like a typical Thai upset that she was doing better than she could and made some noise. Sad. They should be given that lady a permanent job helping foreigners understand Thai. 6 1 2
Popular Post Travel Dude Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 Once out of the country I hope she carries on giving those Thai language courses online. Internet has no barriers. 2 2 2 3
Popular Post Ombra Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 These officers are heroes! It took four of them to arrest this dangerous young woman. 1 1 6
kingstonkid Posted April 21 Posted April 21 8 hours ago, ikke1959 said: Maybe a better THai teacher than ones in schools... Yes but she is not Thai if she was teaching English the Thai teachers would not have complained 1
Popular Post robz Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 Instead of giving the successful course provider an opportunity to generate tax revenue and teach interested people Thai, they will likely imprison and deport her, despite her having a work permit. The stubborn adherence to outdated rules from grandma's era shows that time has stood still in Thailand. Outside Thailand, she will offer exactly the same courses and earn a lot of money, which she will then pay taxes on in a potentially more appreciative country. 4 2
Popular Post JJ-Thailand Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 I would prefer Thais to learn English, problem solved. 1 4
Popular Post terryofcrete Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 Pathetic ... especially the photo. Would they even understand how silly they look. 3 1
hotchilli Posted April 21 Posted April 21 9 hours ago, ikke1959 said: Maybe a better THai teacher than ones in schools... She obviously attracted customers in need of extra learning.
Nabbiex Posted April 21 Posted April 21 It would bring me greater satisfaction to witness four heroic officers apprehending a reckless Thai driver responsible for numerous injuries and fatalities, instead of seeing them involved with a harmless English teacher who fosters Thai students' self-assurance. Unfortunately, this scenario is never reflected in any news articles.🫤 1
Showtime Posted April 21 Posted April 21 Don't the police have much bigger and better fish to fry? Education is such a heinous crime.
thesetat Posted April 21 Posted April 21 Poor girl, maybe if she tutored English to the Thais she would have been better off hmm..... Or Chinese... Thais do not like the idea that a foreigner can teach Thai language making more money than they dreamed of per class with such success. But she was not a teacher in reality. She was tutoring. Otherwise she would need to be working in a school.
Alex2554 Posted April 21 Posted April 21 1 hour ago, thesetat said: Poor girl, 1500THBx100000 followers = 1.5 M weekly income 1 1
Popular Post Harrisfan Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 5 minutes ago, Alex2554 said: 1500THBx100000 followers = 1.5 M weekly income Facebook followers not students 1 2
soi3eddie Posted April 21 Posted April 21 Seems like some jealous Thais dobbed her in. She could relocate almost anywhere in the world and have no problems teaching Thai online to anyone. Kudos to her for being so successful - if Thais were as smart as her they would copy and do same or better. Sour grapes for sure. Shame on the Thais for treating this lady this way when she's promoting the Thai language. 1
Popular Post Will B Good Posted April 21 Popular Post Posted April 21 Why oh why are they not pointing? 3
it is what it is Posted April 21 Posted April 21 4 minutes ago, Will B Good said: Why oh why are they not pointing? i believe under thai law a lack of pointing will always lead to a not guilty verdict. 1 1
NativeBob Posted April 21 Posted April 21 Ha! Thailand is the second country in Asia of girls working on webcam sites as Onlyfans etc. Thailand has a very strict laws on making obscene videos (a.k.a. porn) and engaging into such activity. But ... hundreds of newcomers are joining DA BIZ weekly and almost nothing happens. Why? It is very tiresome work to investigate, prove and submit it to the court. It Is online, honey! something in the cloud somewhere in the cloud. Then how could they arrest a young woman doing something "in the cloud" with "virtual customers"? Unless they will scare her <deleted>less and confess >>>>> no evidence whatsoever. She was just recording videos for her Hollywood career. Ooops! somebody were watching? Wow!
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