Thailand detains 212 fortune seekers
Star Online Report

BANGKOK: -- Thailand navy have detained 212 Bangladeshi nationals and kept at the country’s immigration detention centre for quizzing.

They have been picked over the last two to three months while being taken to Malaysia by some brokers using sea route.

Bangladesh embassy in Bangkok last week informed about the people by sending official letters to the foreign and home ministries, Shafiqul Islam, additional secretary (security and immigration) of home, told The Daily Star this evening.

“Last week, we got a letter about the people. We have already forwarded those to the addresses of the people for verification because we need to be confirmed whether the detainees are Bangladeshis or Rohingyas,” he said.

If the home ministry is confirmed about that the detainees are Bangladeshi citizens after the verification then the government will arrange to bring them back, Shafiqul added.

The Bangladesh embassy in Bangkok came to know about the detainees in mid-March.

The Bangladesh embassy sought the real identities of the detainees by sending the letters, he said.

So, the home ministry asked the offices of 22 superintends of police to verify the identities.

According to the letters sent by Muhammad Ehteshamul Haque, minister (consular) at the Bangladesh embassy, these people tried to go to Malaysia with the assistance of some brokers comprising Bangladeshis and other nationalities. They were arrested by the Thailand navy by past several months.

Initially, two officials from Bangladesh embassy quizzed these people at the detention centre and all of them admitted that they are Bangladeshis.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/thailand-detains-212-fortuneseekers-22009

-- The Daily Star 2014-04-29

So they had a quiz with a chance to win a fortune.

What a fortune to be made at 4500THB a month if they are lucky enough to get paid.

At least they weren't shuttled off to a remote Thai plantation for slave labor.

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So they had a quiz with a chance to win a fortune.

There go's my chance to win lotto, back to the tea leaves

I wish we had this policy of detainment in the United States instead we give them benefits. Good for Thailand actually enforcing the law.

Just about the worst English I've seen in an article and once again another stupid misleading headline..."fortune seekers", right!

There goes abhisits bomb scare intelligence source...........................

"If the home ministry is confirmed about that the detainees are Bangladeshi citizens after the verification then the government will arrange to bring them back",

If they turn out to be Rohingya on the other hand the philanthropic Thai Navy will step in to take care of them

Darn, I came here because I read "212 Fortune TELLERS."

So it does make sense that these guys didn't see it coming. Oh well...

I thought they had locked up local fortune tellers.

I wish we had this policy of detainment in the United States instead we give them benefits. Good for Thailand actually enforcing the law.

IMO this is a smoke screen! Interesting how the Thai navy are supposedly enforcing the law, were these Bangladeshi's given up for the sake of International opinion, It would Justify their claim that the Reuters report of people trafficking by the Thai Navy is indeed false! Or that is what they would hope the international community will think!

I wish we had this policy of detainment in the United States instead we give them benefits. Good for Thailand actually enforcing the law.

IMO this is a smoke screen! Interesting how the Thai navy are supposedly enforcing the law, were these Bangladeshi's given up for the sake of International opinion, It would Justify their claim that the Reuters report of people trafficking by the Thai Navy is indeed false! Or that is what they would hope the international community will think!

That might be so. According to the OP "They have been picked over the last two to three months while being taken to Malaysia by some brokers using sea route." Where were they when they were picked up - were they in international waters or Thai territorial waters - and on what basis was that done? Key facts are missing from this piece making it impossible to know from the report what really happened.

Well they never saw that coming did they? They are to be very unlucky man !!

" Fortune Seekers ? " the whole country could be locked up.

" I like you hansum man, me not care money you "

Must be newspeak for Rohingya.

From the caretaker ministry of information

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

{ redacted for extreme silliness and being completely and utterly off topic }