Myanmar human trafficker arrested in Kanchanaburi; 3 Saraburi brothels pulled down
By Digital Media

BANGKOK, May 31 - Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) arrested a Myanmar human trafficker in the western province of Kanchanaburi, while in a separate case, three brothels were pulled down in the central province of Saraburi.

DSI director-general Tarit Pengdith and Myanmar Embassy Counselor Naing Htoon told a news conference that over 20 illegal Burmese workers were lured to work in Kanchanaburi by a Myanmar woman whom that country's authorities had been asking the Thai authorities to help apprehend.

The suspect admitted to DSI that she had done the activity for more than one year but said she was unaware that her bringing the workers to Thailand was illegal. She said she did the crime with her daughter, who had previously been arrested by Myanmar police.

The deceived workers were taken to work at a corn canning factory in Kanchanaburi's Tha Maka district. They had to pay the mother and daughter at Bt10,000-15,000/person, while they were beaten and confined while working. According to DSI, they were hired at Bt100/two weeks and taken Bt20 off the top; therefore earning only Bt80.

Mr Htoon admitted that human trafficking is a major problem in the country and that there are many groups of Myanmar human traffickers, mostly to lure workers to work in fishing industry.

Meanwhile, Thailand's DSI director-general Tharit said that three brothels operating under the cover of karaoke bars were demolished last night in Saraburi's Kaeng Khoi district.

There were 36 female victims arrested, most of whom were 17-28 years old and from Laos.

DSI plans to send them back to their home countries.

According to the investigation, the victims were hired at Bt750/session after being forced into prostitution, and a commission would be taken off the top by the karaoke bars. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-05-31

You'd think someone with a daughter might have a little more respect for young, vulnerable women.

You'd think someone with a daughter might have a little more respect for young, vulnerable women.

All decency, respect etc goes out the window when there's pages in a bank book to be filled.

No mention of how it comes to be that a canning factory (unnamed of course) employs illegal Burmese employees, and doesn't pay their salary direct to the employees.

It can't be the factory's fault they were forced into doing it by this villainous Burmese woman!! - incidentally what about the fines that are supposed to be levied against companies that employ illegals?

Well done to the DSI. Tarit should ensure the DSI concentrate on fighting crimes like this rather than political skullduggery.

Now they should follow through and make sure the corn canning company and the brothel owners are dealt with in accordance with the law..................

You'd think someone with a daughter might have a little more respect for young, vulnerable women.

Yes they negotiate a better price and ask the visitors to be kind.

You'd think someone with a daughter might have a little more respect for young, vulnerable women.

You gotta be joking, these slime sell their own daughters.

Gettimg paid 80baht per 2 week period while being beaten and locked up. One could only hope the poor factory workers would get compensated up to minimum wage retroactively get their initial 10-15.000 back and then get money for punitive damages. And that factory owner get prison. Regarding prostitution i can only wish the best for these girls and that the traffickers get punished really hard...scum of the earth...

I'm lost on this one. Are the ladies and men prostitutes or corn canners? How much do they get paid: 100 baht or 80 baht for two weeks or 750 a session and what is a session? How do you pull down a brothel and does that have anything to do with the story or is it as the OP suggests, "a separate case, three brothels were pulled down in the central province of Saraburi."

Can someone who speaks MCOT translate.

I'll try.

D.S.I.( under the now infamous Tharit) arrest a Burmese (Myanmar) woman and her daughter (It was me and ma wot dunnit) in Kanchanaburi. They are accused of human trafficking young Burmese women to Thailand to work in a canning factory for criminally low pay.

In another unrelated incident 3 brothels, operating as karaoke bars (don't they all), were raided and destroyed by police and the young Laotian ladies in said brothel (earning considerably more than their Burmese sisters over in Kanch) were arrested and will be returned to Laos.

Presumably to begin the journey over again when another greedy opportunists arrives

Apparently the ones in Saraburi were only here for a short time.

The Kanchanaburi girls all got canned without pay.

And, no, I doubt a question was asked, after all they were illegals.

this is what it looked like on the thai side of Nong Khai boarder crossing a few weeks ago

wonder where they all went? not good paying jobs i'll bet

3 brothels down and 300 thousand to go!

Said it before, and I'll say it again--it's all about competition. Lao and Burmese girls send money back to Laos and Burma--not rural Thailand. If all those farmers had to go without their bargirl daughter's remittances, there would probably be civil unrest. At the very least--no satellite dishes on the roofs of shacks in Isaan, and definitely no money to gamble with.

I feel sorry for the plight of Laotians. They aren't going far having aligned with China. I don't blame the people for trying to survive. It's just a shame that there are scum who will take advantage of them.

I wouldn't be surprised that the raid on the brothels came as a result of complaints from "legitimate" competitor bars who take advantage only of Isaan girls.

If I was a conspiracy theorist (which I'm not) I could imagine that the government deliberatly published disinformation about the state of exports until after the BOT had dropped the rate AND enforced capital controls on bonds, that way overseas money would keep flooding in on the basis of excellent export growth and buyers wouldn't be able to reverse/withdraw those funds stariaght away because of the newly implemented capital controls, hmmmm! But you mislead us the investors will cry, so sorry we made an accounting mistake they'll answer.

Apologies, the above ended up here for some reason!

If only the people of all these countries were paid higher minimum wages and not exploited, and given a real education and encouraged to be successful in life, then maybe all of this wouldn't happen.

I feel sorry for the plight of Laotians. They aren't going far having aligned with China. I don't blame the people for trying to survive. It's just a shame that there are scum who will take advantage of them.

I wouldn't be surprised that the raid on the brothels came as a result of complaints from "legitimate" competitor bars who take advantage only of Isaan girls.

They probably couldn't get a job in Laos because Chinese companies operating there won't employ local Laotians, they only employ Chinese workers, right down to those that perform the most basic tasks. It's much easier to hire your own countrymen especially since you can communicate effectively and the Laotians are not known for their work ethic. Often an unskilled worker only works for 2 days and then has a "family emergency" never to return again, it's incidents like these that haven't exactly helped Laos to develop. It's only developing rapidly now due to outside assistance. Strangely though, the by-the-book Aussies employ mostly Lao workers in their gold mining operations there preferring to spend years training locals and then firing expats all in a drive to save money. Why they even call themselves "Australian" companies when they barely have an Aussie left working for them is a mystery to me.