Picture courtesy of The Borgen Project

 

In a surprising move, Thailand's Minister of Social Development and Human Security, Varawut Silpa-archa, has urged the public to stop giving money to beggars, especially in key tourist spots like Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Chon Buri. His remarks aimed to address the growing visibility of street begging, which he believes is exacerbated by well-meaning but counterproductive generosity.

 

“Begging has existed for years,” Varawut stated, “but it’s important to understand that it’s illegal under Thai law.” His comments highlight a persistent problem that’s become more prominent in bustling tourist areas.

 

The minister pointed out that many beggars belong to organised networks. When apprehended, foreign beggars are deported, while Thai nationals are referred to Homeless Protection Centres. These centres provide training and support, aiming to reintegrate individuals into society. However, attendance isn’t mandatory, allowing those who refuse to return to the streets.

 

Recent data from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) identified over 2,499 homeless individuals nationwide, with hotspots in major cities. An academic review suggests the number could exceed 4,500, according to various records.

 

Varawut cautioned that donations often encourage more people to engage in begging—sometimes earning more than the tourists themselves. “In many cases, beggars may have more savings than the donors. Please do not let your goodwill support illegal activities or organised begging networks,” he warned.

 

Critics argue that the government's approach focuses more on reducing the visibility of homelessness rather than addressing its root causes. Many social workers believe that treating homelessness as a mere public nuisance, instead of a pressing human rights issue, hinders genuine progress. They advocate for policy shifts towards supporting the vulnerable rather than merely controlling them.

 

Varawut’s statements underscore an ongoing struggle between humanitarian efforts and legal enforcement. Simply cracking down on begging without viable alternatives could push vulnerable people further into hardship.

 

The call to action for the public is clear—ceasing handouts might be a step towards dismantling organised networks, but without comprehensive support systems, the underlying issues of homelessness remain unsolved. Moving forward, it’s crucial for Thailand to strike a balance between enforcement and empathy, ensuring all individuals have a path towards a stable future.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-07-07

 

 

Begging probably closely follows prostitution as the world's oldest profession.

Efforts like this are beyond ludicrous.

It’s very sad, a Thai friend and I spoke to a Thai woman of about 70 yrs old but looked 90, in Patong . She didn’t beg at the market but sat on the pavement and most people gave her 10 baht or bought her food. Apparently she was a local lady who had always worked, her husband died, she couldn’t pay the rent on her own as she had no children to help her.  Condo building there and becoming a very popular area , there was no way she could survive decently.. That’s Thailand , in all the popular tourist areas the condos , hotels have pushed out the poorer of Thailand. Nowhere to go on a few baht pension, how does the rich government in Bangkok think they are doing anything at all to help the homeless and aged in generally ? Terrible situation. I saw a lot in Pattaya too sleeping on the building sites and in carparks. 

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“Begging has existed for years,” Varawut stated, “but it’s important to understand that it’s illegal under Thai law.”

 

Does this include "vote begging" ? Thaksin what do you think about this?

Afraid of scaring more tourists away?

Maybe if the government helped them out in some way like setting up daily food spots or health check spots then maybe they might not have to constantly beg. Although there are those who do it for a living then get in their cars and drive home at night . Quite how much this is done here compared to places in UK I'm not sure.

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

When apprehended, foreign beggars are deported, while Thai nationals are referred to Homeless Protection Centres.

They are in plain sight. He could apprehend all of them easily if he wanted to.

3 hours ago, watchcat said:

 

Does this include "vote begging" ? Thaksin what do you think about this?

 

Tony says brown envelopes, and theft is just fine, but please no begging because thats illegal...

50 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

They are in plain sight. He could apprehend all of them easily if he wanted to.

 

Yes you have to be a blind to miss a "Whale"

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) identified over 2,499 homeless individuals nationwide,

 

 

2,499

 

Is that an approximate number?

9 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

2,499

 

Is that an approximate number?

 

2.499 is just a number pulled out of their azz like most official numbers in Thailand especially by TAT.. 

Prohibition of willing giveaway to the destitute?

Sounds quite "Unthai".

Reasonable level of compassion/generosity to the less fortunate.

That is strongly the part of this kingdom's faith-based culture.

 

Well-endowed bureaucrats/politicians  never live in the reality; only concerned about superficial " image" of the country to the outside world.

 

Beggars  are what the system of the country automatically creates.

As the result of social deprivation.

 

Some people are born given nothing(eg custodian, relatives of any kinds) from the rest of the world.

So as the otherwise available opportunities.

 

As long as they don't have workable scheme effectively rescuing and rehabilitating  such ones to merge into so-called "mainstream" way of life put up with these people.

The are rather harmless private charity seekers.

 

They are not like dangerous vicious robbers/bandits; only want small handouts from mercy of strangers.

They won't extort money from the innocent unlike thugs.

Or won't invade into the life of other people.

 

They also indicate the neglect of policy makers   and administrators after all.

Extremely hypocritical that they  don't want to see the result of own selfish laziness.

I tried to find out Varawut Silpa-archa net worth.

AI told me this:

Varawut Silpa-archa's net worth is not publicly available. Information regarding the wealth of Thai politicians, including Varawut Silpa-archa, is generally not disclosed in public records. While the declaration of assets is required for certain political figures, it's not always made readily accessible to the public. Therefore, his exact net worth remains unknown. 

 

My guess is though, he doesn't need to beg...

Minister of Social Development and Human Security, Varawut Silpa-archa, has urged the public to stop giving money to beggars, especially in key tourist spots like Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Chon Buri.

 

Head of Social Development and Human  Security complaining about the homeless who rely on their livelihood on strangers' charity?

 

If your kinds are doing own job properly enough, you won't see all these people.

 

Scu*bag, only devoting own time and energy for easy billions from state revenue, for himself and own klans.

13 hours ago, BonnieandClyde said:

Begging probably closely follows prostitution as the world's oldest profession.

Efforts like this are beyond ludicrous.

 

Strongly agree.

It begins with social deprivation in the first place.

And when these born poor are finally left with nothing to "sell"(due to the loss of their market value, due to aging), they can do nothing but to appeal to the compassion of strangers.

 

They are showing the apparant  failure of social system itself.

Born extremely poor, chance of proper education/training taken away at early stage of life, forced into the job without future prospect, end up begging in the street...

Perfect example of the Vicious Cycle.

 

Bureaucrats/politicians, born wealthy never understand.

 

Sometime Last year, I met a homeless working as the casual  cleaner for municipality.

After buying a few meals for her, I gave her the contact details of the homeless shelter of the town.  

Fortunately, she still retained her mobile phone.

Days later, she was still on the bench of the park with a small roof.

She said that that rescue station turned her away, saying it was full.

She  said that ahe could afford to pay the rent if it is under 2000b a month. 

I tried to help find the room for her  within that amount.

But could not find any that fits her(in the area  she can commute on foot on daily basis).

Very cheap ones are always 6-7 miles away from the city center.

 

Weeks later, there was some fancy ceremony  at the park she lived. 

She was no longer there.

Was she ordered to leave?

Or luckily found any affordable lodging with some one else's help?

Her fate unknown...

 

...Talk About A Comprehensive Plan To Address The Problem... (?)

Can the Thai government halt or cut funding to Buddhist wats and so-called merit making for street-begging monks? It might as fair then to serve the Public to redirect at least some government financial assistance to the homeless and starving people. 

23 hours ago, BonnieandClyde said:

Begging probably closely follows prostitution as the world's oldest profession.

Efforts like this are beyond ludicrous.

So true.

One good example - among many that could be named - are recently arrived Gypsies in the US.

Lots of them are begging and some using children in their scams in spite of receiving comprehensive social welfare benefits.

Beggars will always be beggars no matter how successful they are at gaming the system.

On 7/8/2025 at 6:14 AM, black tabby12345 said:

 

Strongly agree.

It begins with social deprivation in the first place.

And when these born poor are finally left with nothing to "sell"(due to the loss of their market value, due to aging), they can do nothing but to appeal to the compassion of strangers.

 

They are showing the apparant  failure of social system itself.

Born extremely poor, chance of proper education/training taken away at early stage of life, forced into the job without future prospect, end up begging in the street...

Perfect example of the Vicious Cycle.

 

Bureaucrats/politicians, born wealthy never understand.

 

Sometime Last year, I met a homeless working as the casual  cleaner for municipality.

After buying a few meals for her, I gave her the contact details of the homeless shelter of the town.  

Fortunately, she still retained her mobile phone.

Days later, she was still on the bench of the park with a small roof.

She said that that rescue station turned her away, saying it was full.

She  said that ahe could afford to pay the rent if it is under 2000b a month. 

I tried to help find the room for her  within that amount.

But could not find any that fits her(in the area  she can commute on foot on daily basis).

Very cheap ones are always 6-7 miles away from the city center.

 

Weeks later, there was some fancy ceremony  at the park she lived. 

She was no longer there.

Was she ordered to leave?

Or luckily found any affordable lodging with some one else's help?

Her fate unknown...

 

Have you seen the street sweepers on Jomtien prom, near Copacabana ??
Sleeping on raffia mats at night. Disgusting way to treat their people.  I’m ashamed of them.

“Begging has existed for years,” Varawut stated, “but it’s important to understand that it’s illegal under Thai law.”

Uh, there is a highly organized group nationwide that begs. Called the monkhood. They even have audacity to call what they collect their booty in "begging bowls"

Okay, lame attempt at humor... BUT Thais believe they do gain merit by giving to beggars, be they monks or lay people, so this latest drive will fall on deaf ears

11 hours ago, geisha said:

Have you seen the street sweepers on Jomtien prom, near Copacabana ??
Sleeping on raffia mats at night. Disgusting way to treat their people.  I’m ashamed of them.

 

Hi, I live in the north of Thailand and unsure about streets of Pattaya.

But feels the same as you did 

They certainly deserve better.

While cleaning the town;keeping public hygiene, they have no choice but to sleep with dirt and various risks otherwise easily avoided.

Quite upsetting.

One worst social darkness here. 

 

 

90% of beggars are mafia run.  The problem is that foreigners fall for it.  I explained the scam to a woman I know in the US and she insisted that she'd still give and give in significant amounts.

I saw it first hand in Chiang Mai back when I lived in the Thai community there.  Cars and vans would travel around dropping off a woman with a child at various points in the tourist areas of Chiang Mai and come back and pick them up later in the day.  Very coordinated.  One day "mom" would have a small child, the next day maybe a baby, the next maybe a youngster capable of holding out a cup or bowl.

Now there are also a small percentage of elderly Thais on the streets. The difference is that these people lived in our community - we knew them.  A few would beg, most would attempt to sell something.  We'd often give these people some money and let them keep whatever they were selling.  But the ones being driven in to the community to beg on Thapea and Loi Khoi were run by the mafia.  All the locals know it. I never gave anything to them.  Sad because this is human trafficking, but these women and children lives are NOT made better by what they collect.  Only foreign expats and tourist can't wrap there head around it, and as such, they make the begging profitable for the mafias who are running primarily Myanmar women and kids in the begging racket. 

What the Thai government should do is bust the human trafficking rings running this scam.  But?  Do they?  Nope.  Ever wonder why?  ฿฿฿฿฿฿

On 7/8/2025 at 1:20 PM, Srikcir said:

Can the Thai government halt or cut funding to Buddhist wats and so-called merit making for street-begging monks? It might as fair then to serve the Public to redirect at least some government financial assistance to the homeless and starving people. 

No - because the government doesn't fund the temples.  You're obviously not Buddhist.  Yet not a peep about Christian tele-Evangalists who make the paltry sums that individual Thai Buddhist temples rake in look insignificant.  Or denominations like Mormons who require their members to pay 10% of their earnings to the church as well as a whole lot of other churches which encourage their members to contribute 10% of their income. You come here from the West and ignore "The log in your own eye."

To the best of my knowledge our local Buddhist temples don't receive any stipends from the Thai government. Operating costs of local temples are funded by the Thais who live in that area the temple serves.  The so-called "begging" is daily FOOD collections. Monks don't "beg." They walk a know route through the community and people give food.  Sure, some people will drop a 20 or 100 THB bill into alms bowl, but monks don't ask for the money or the food.  Most village and city (Maha Niyaka) monks will accept money.  A small percentage of (Dhammayut) monks do not touch money nor do monks associated with Forest Monasteries. You're talking about a religion with a 2500 year history traveling from India to Sri Lanka about 2300 years ago, and to Thailand over 1000 years ago.  Like any organization, temples require money to run.  They have operating expenses.  Granted, there is a well know sect that I won't name due to defamation laws which rakes in obscene amounts of money and whose activities in the Theravada tradition is questionable, and as well there are celebrity monks who do the same and live opulent lifestyles.  They give Theravada Buddhism a bad name unfortunately.  Then if you find a monk begging for money on the street?  They aren't real monks. If you live here long enough and are involved with Buddhist monasteries, you learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff.
 

When I was living and working in India I realized that many of the beggars were doing this professionally or working for professionals who were collecting a significant amount of money from their work. So I started carrying around a daypack with fruit inside it, and when I would be approached by a beggar I would offer them a banana or an orange. The professionals would look at me with a great deal of disdain, whereas the real beggars would accept the fruit with gratitude as they were truly hungry. It worked!

 

Helping people in need is a wonderful thing, and this minister is likely a wealthy man who is very much out of touch with reality, and is displaying very little in the way of humanity and compassion. Fools like this simply need to be ignored with all the strength of our being. 

I gave a kid some food just this morning after my run.  I've seen him and his brother around.  Mom is too poor to send them to school.   I'm moving again next week so this won't be a regular thing.   I'm sure the kid's hungry.   He's begging, but not begging.   I've seen him about five times and this was the first time I felt like he needed some food.  He didn't get in my face, just asked what I bought.   

 

just go with your gut.   lady with a kid or sleeping baby or in a tourist place....yea, prob. scam.  I haven't seen a farang in weeks.  

4 hours ago, Emdog said:

“Begging has existed for years,” Varawut stated, “but it’s important to understand that it’s illegal under Thai law.”

Uh, there is a highly organized group nationwide that begs. Called the monkhood. They even have audacity to call what they collect their booty in "begging bowls"

Okay, lame attempt at humor... BUT Thais believe they do gain merit by giving to beggars, be they monks or lay people, so this latest drive will fall on deaf ears

Disabuse yourself of the notion that Thais look upon the Buddhist Sangha as "beggars".

With very few exceptions they certainly do not.

"...Thais believe they do gain merit by giving to beggars, be they monks or lay people".

You're right about the monks but wrong about the "lay people".

Beggars were a rare sight anywhere in Thailand when I first came here in the late 1970s.

As time went by, more and more refugees - mostly Khmer and Lao - started arriving and becane a familiar sight begging on pedestrian overpasses and other places where they were likely to get some money.

In the '80s and '90s most were organized by gangs and taught how to use children and how to fake disabilities if they didn't have them already.

Thais never saw giving to them as "merit".

Learn more about Thailand before posting nonsense.