SOURCE: Pattaya Daily News: August 11th 2008

POLICE UNSCHEDULED ARRESTS ILLEGAL WORKERS WHILST CHASING A THIEF

Pattaya police had chased after a snatcher. The suspect sped into a Soi and left his motorbike,ran away into a construction camp. Police enclosed the worker camp and searched for the culprit but failed to find him. Unexpectedly, police found 34 illegal Khmer workers in the camp. The workers were then arrested immediately.

On August 11th, 2008, at 2.20am, Pol.Col. Nopadol Wongnom, Pattaya superintendent, Chonburi, commanded a police team to chase after a Thai man on a motorbike who grabbed a property from a tourist and ran away around Theprasit road, Moo 12, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi. The suspect had ridden the red and black Honda Wave 125 motorbike, license 566, Chonburi, into Soi Chawieng (Theprasit 7). The snatcher abandoned the motorbike and ran away into a construction camp at Moo Baan Suan Sawan. Police enclosed the workers camp to search for the suspect but could not find him.

During the search for the suspect at the worker camp, police found Khmer workers who had smuggled into the country illegally. They were alarmed and running out of their place as they thought that police was coming to arrest them. Police managed to arrest 9 women and 24 men, altogether 33 Khmer workers in total. All of them had been working in the construction camp without working permit and entering into the country illegally.

However, the foreman who hired those illegal Khmer workers had run away. Police detained all illegal workers to Pattaya police station and would send them out of the country. Police would search for the foreman who hired those illegal workers. Police also confiscated the snatcher's motorbike as evidence and will try to catch him accordingly.

i am surprised they mentioned the Theft, would have thought it would have been some good PR on there police work skills to find 34 illigal workers

Agree with you on the PR side - and why publish that they have the bike - it will now be reported stolen the night before (I was asleep and didn't know it had gone / I was in Krung Thep for the day and when I came back it was gone).

When I was working in Hong Kong, before 1997, we were working on some roads / bridges / infrastructure in the New Territories when the Immigration Police visited a construction site next to ours - 8 x 36-floor tower blocks. It was like kicking over a large termite mound - literally hundreds of IIs from the mainland trying to get out of the towers, where they were working / living / sleeping. I doubt if there was one legitimate Hong Kong Chinese resident on the site below supervisor level. Right outside Tai Po Market on the KCR, if you know the area.