7 minutes ago, Dexxter said:

Tuk-tuk driver in the video said "Thailand not Israel".

2 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

Most of the Russians here in Phuket are well presented and well off as far as I can see, they are no bother at all.

And to Thais we are all farangs anyway as all farangs are the same to many of them.

How would the Thai guy know the beggar is from Israel ?

The tuk tuk or songtail type driver is drivelling, just looking to point a finger at whatever nationality isn't flavour of the month........The man with child prop certainly isn't Russian, more likely from Aleppo or similar region.......

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

One must display empathy

I know what you mean, when a bar girl says to me she is poor, she is forced into this job, she hates it and does not want to do I I just hand over my wallet and walk on, poor girl, we must have blind empathy. 😃

6 hours ago, geisha said:

So you judge someone by their religion ! Begging is not allowed and the man should not be doing it. Why doesn’t he beg in his own country ? He was reported to be Israeli.

Read my post again and look at my logo!

How things have changed!

Twenty years ago it was a white

Aussie who held up a cardboard sign

"Teacher stranded need ticket money".

In front of the Beer Garden Soi !

16 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

The footage was shared by the Facebook page “Hod Jung Changwat Phuket”, showing the man holding his child’s hand while approaching tourists and tuk-tuk drivers for money along Thaweewong Road in Patong, Kathu district. The post stated that tuk-tuk drivers could no longer tolerate the situation and called on relevant agencies to act urgently, describing it as a growing social problem.

It was a common sight along Soi Bangla to see Burmese children of primary school age begging for money, selling flowers, in worst cases mutilated with missing limbs, being out in the bars until the morning hours.

The handlers were, of course, Thai.

So I am very surprised to hear that tuk-tuk drivers, often described as quite hardened members of the local Thai society, had this unbelievable level of distress on seeing a foreigner bringing his own kid along.

But I am sure, there are indeed relevant "agencies" acting on the social problem of empowerished children, being Thai or not, all over Phuket. The news would have made so much more sense, having a paragraph or two about their good work in Phuket added (actually there are, some, I am being a bit facetious there -- because I do not think those benevolent Thais will put this kid there).

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18 hours ago, elektrified said:

How is that relevant?

Looks more like an eastern European gipsy scam starting up in Thailand.

Might take the lad with me next time I visit Patong.

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Bird sh** farang as they say

14 hours ago, geisha said:

He was reported to be Israeli.

Where was that reported ?

16 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

No bond has been lodged for my visa.

When did it become a requirement ?

a cash in the bank

Reminds me of an old song... The chorus comes to mind.

“There's a hole in Daddy's arm... Where all the money goes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLVWEYUqGew

On 5/6/2026 at 11:19 AM, elektrified said:

How is that relevant?

Yes how did he get a visa with no money and to go begging, never seen anything like this in Los b4, very sad to see

2 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

Yes how did he get a visa with no money and to go begging, never seen anything like this in Los b4, very sad to see

Who said he has a visa?

On 5/7/2026 at 3:28 AM, jts-khorat said:

It was a common sight along Soi Bangla to see Burmese children of primary school age begging for money, selling flowers, in worst cases mutilated with missing limbs, being out in the bars until the morning hours.

The handlers were, of course, Thai.

So I am very surprised to hear that tuk-tuk drivers, often described as quite hardened members of the local Thai society, had this unbelievable level of distress on seeing a foreigner bringing his own kid along.

But I am sure, there are indeed relevant "agencies" acting on the social problem of empowerished children, being Thai or not, all over Phuket. The news would have made so much more sense, having a paragraph or two about their good work in Phuket added (actually there are, some, I am being a bit facetious there -- because I do not think those benevolent Thais will put this kid there).

The child beggars were taken off the street in Phuket at least 20 years ago, so the Tuk-Tuk driver might not have know they existed in the first place.

90% of the girly bars have gone as well over the same time period.