Guilty human-trafficking verdicts

[webfact]

Guilty human-trafficking verdicts

By THE NATION

 

Police officers stand guard as suspects in a human trafficking case arrive at the criminal court in Bangkok yesterday. // EPA PHOTO

 

PM defensive as lt-general amid suspects convicted in massive 2015 abuse scandal.

BANGKOK: -- THE CRIMINAL COURT yesterday convicted human traffickers implicated in a massive network, including senior military officer Manas Kongpan and leading local politicians in the South, for their roles in the trade of modern-day slaves in a case that ignited attention on the regional migrant crisis two years ago.

 

The court spent all of yesterday reading a 500-page verdict on 102 defendants involved in trafficking migrants, most of whom were ethnic Rohingya people from Myanmar and Bangladesh. 

 

The involvement of security officers, notably Lt-General Manas, an Army special adviser, apparently angered Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as reporters asked if their roles in the crimes had damaged the military’s reputation. 

 

“Do not forget that we have 400,000 to 500,000 troops. Manas is just one person. Can he alone ruin the whole Army?” Prayut responded furiously. However, he said he had no idea how the court’s verdict would affect Thailand’s reputation regarding human trafficking.

 

Manas and several other security officials and politicians from local administrations in the southern Satun province, were arrested in 2015 following the discovery of a mass grave in a jungle shelter in the border district of Sadao, which traffickers had used to hide their victims. 

 

Prayut, who led the Army to topple the elected civilian government in 2014, asked the public not to blame the entire military for the trafficking crimes while referencing the former Army general. “There are many people in this human trafficking network. Manas alone is just part of [the network],” Prayut said yesterday before the court issued its verdict.

 

An Army captain was also accused in the case but Manas was the highest ranking officer involved the trial. He climbed the career ladder when Prayut was Army commander between 2010 and 2014 and was promoted from major general to lieutenant general after the 2014 military coup.

 

The court found that Manas and Pol Colonel Charn U-thong and Pol Sub-Lieutenant Narathon Samphan were guilty of trafficking and organising a transborder crime syndicate. 

 

 

The case involved 103 defendants but one of them died during the trial. As of press time yesterday, the court had read verdicts for 38 defendants with more than two dozen found guilty for roles in human trafficking and bringing illegal migrants into the Kingdom and sheltering them. 

 

Ten defendants, including two police officers, were acquitted based on insufficient evidence. 

 

The court summarised the accounts of witnesses regarding the behaviour of the defendants, specifying the responsibilities of suspects who ran the Rohingya detention camp in the Khao Kaew mountain in Sadao district, from where the Rohingya were smuggled to Malaysia.

 

The verdict also dwelled on witness accounts about defendants who were in charge of food and water supplies and who beat up trafficking victims. 

 

The court said it had been told that not enough food and water was provided to the detained Rohingya, who faced death threats designed to prevent them from using their phones or fleeing the camp. The court also said it had been told that victims were beaten up when they asked for more food and water.

 

Another well-known defendant, Pajjuban Aungkachotephan, who is widely known as “Ko Tong”, is the former chief of Satun Provincial Administrative Organisation. Public prosecutors accused him of using private Andaman Sea islands, close to tourist spots such as Koh Lipe, to shift boatloads of migrants to the mainland, where they were packed into lorries and taken to camps straddling the Malaysian border. 

 

 

The court found him guilty of human trafficking, organising a cross-border crime syndicate and bringing illegal migrants into the Kingdom.

 

Trafficking of Rohingya to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia roused international outrage years ago as so-called “boat people” from border areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar were subjected to inhumane treatment while being trafficked in countries across the region. 

 

A major crackdown on human trafficking in 2014 resulted in Thailand being upgraded from the lowest class of Tier 3 in the US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report 2014-2015. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30321234

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-07-20

[Samui Bodoh]

The Thai army have been running a counter-insurgency operation on the southern border for a decade or so. If anyone has been in the area, you would see lots of road blocks, check points, random stops and identity checks. The army has been on alert there (for understandable reasons) as numerous army and security forces have lost their lives. 

 

The idea that a human-trafficking ring could operate in that area, carting car loads and/or truck loads of people without papers or even likely without speaking Thai, is ludicrous; the people being trafficked would stand out like a sore thumb. Further, the border area is a highly guarded zone, and the idea that you could have several camps in the place and not have them noticed defies belief. 

 

It is great to see a high-ranking army officer get caught and sentenced. However, the idea that there wasn't large-scale involvement from numerous army officers and police is impossible.

 

This case needs to be expanded greatly as there are many many more military and security people who must have been involved; it could not have occurred without wide-spread assistance. 

 

Many more arrests and trials are needed to even begin to clean the stain. 

 

[rkidlad]

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

The Thai army have been running a counter-insurgency operation on the southern border for a decade or so. If anyone has been in the area, you would see lots of road blocks, check points, random stops and identity checks. The army has been on alert there (for understandable reasons) as numerous army and security forces have lost their lives. 

 

The idea that a human-trafficking ring could operate in that area, carting car loads and/or truck loads of people without papers or even likely without speaking Thai, is ludicrous; the people being trafficked would stand out like a sore thumb. Further, the border area is a highly guarded zone, and the idea that you could have several camps in the place and not have them noticed defies belief. 

 

It is great to see a high-ranking army officer get caught and sentenced. However, the idea that there wasn't large-scale involvement from numerous army officers and police is impossible.

 

This case needs to be expanded greatly as there are many many more military and security people who must have been involved; it could not have occurred without wide-spread assistance. 

 

Many more arrests and trials are needed to even begin to clean the stain. 

 

I think they think in their small heads that one 'big guy' caught and sentenced is enough to appease the outside world. 

 

They'll be genuinely indignant when the outside world says "we know there are lots more powerful people involved. We want them convicted too"

 

Most things here are just a show. They just have to learn the hard way that this is not how the real world works. 

Edited July 19, 2017 by rkidlad

[klauskunkel]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The court spent all of yesterday reading a 500-page verdict on 102 defendants

I have spent yesterday and today reading about this, but still don't know what the actual punishments are

[newatthis]

" “Do not forget that we have 400,000 to 500,000 troops. Manas is just one person. Can he alone ruin the whole Army?” Prayut responded furiously. "

 

One bad apple can have a domino effect.

[fxe1200]

55 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

I have spent yesterday and today reading about this, but still don't know what the actual punishments are

I doubt, that the punishments of those in higher positions will be published.

[londonthai]

the main investigating officer was from the army and based in Bangkok. He received many death threats.

Despite of it he was ordered to transfer to the south. Fearing for his live he resigned from the army and run away to australia, where he asked for a political refugee status and was granted one. General Prayuth called him a traitor and ordered to return to face treason charges. Most likely he knows more than what was told publicly.

Poor commander, who can only estimate soldiers under his rule with 20% margin. 

[scorecard]

59 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

I have spent yesterday and today reading about this, but still don't know what the actual punishments are

 

Agree. So most of them were found to be guilty, that's a win for  justice in Thailand.

 

But what punishments were they given?

 

I've also tied to find details of the punishments but I can't find anything.

 

Are the punishments not yet announced?

 

Or is this another case of very poor / incomplete reporting by the Thai media? 

[Valentine]

1 hour ago, klauskunkel said:

I have spent yesterday and today reading about this, but still don't know what the actual punishments are

Manas received 27 years according to another publication. The Satun guy 75 years.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Valentine

[scorecard]

1 minute ago, Valentine said:

Manas received 27 years according to another publication.

 

Do you mean the English language daily that can't be mentioned on TV? Or....

[Valentine]

2 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Do you mean the English language daily that can't be mentioned on TV? Or....

Yes

[scorecard]

18 minutes ago, Valentine said:

Yes

 

Some sentence details here..

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-trafficking-idUSKBN1A405O

[NanLaew]

29 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Do you mean the English language daily that can't be mentioned on TV? Or....

The best the Nation can do is donate space to the irrelevancy of Prayuth's public tantrum when pressed by the media on the Army's tarnished reputation. It's like they are too scared to print names and sentences despite the BBC Radio 5 Live currently airing an online report on the verdicts passed after this trial.

 

The toughest sentence of 94 years, was handed down to a Rohingya identified as an 'organizer' of the camps in Thailand. As far as I am aware, I haven't read about any similar action against traffickers in Malaysia, their eventual destination.

 

Thailand can languish at the low-end of tier 2 of the TIP Report and with any luck, will drop into tier 3 again until someone pays attention to the stark realities that prevail here.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

The Thai army have been running a counter-insurgency operation on the southern border for a decade or so. If anyone has been in the area, you would see lots of road blocks, check points, random stops and identity checks. The army has been on alert there (for understandable reasons) as numerous army and security forces have lost their lives. 

 

The idea that a human-trafficking ring could operate in that area, carting car loads and/or truck loads of people without papers or even likely without speaking Thai, is ludicrous; the people being trafficked would stand out like a sore thumb. Further, the border area is a highly guarded zone, and the idea that you could have several camps in the place and not have them noticed defies belief. 

 

It is great to see a high-ranking army officer get caught and sentenced. However, the idea that there wasn't large-scale involvement from numerous army officers and police is impossible.

 

This case needs to be expanded greatly as there are many many more military and security people who must have been involved; it could not have occurred without wide-spread assistance. 

 

Many more arrests and trials are needed to even begin to clean the stain. 

 

If you go back in history you will find that the army here is run like a mafia ring, well there is in actual fact 2 rings. The one that is in control now the Eastern Tigers made their money from gemstone smuggling in the 70's and 80's from Cambodia. How do you think a head of the army that earned pre tax B 1 million in his last 2 years of service could retire with assets of B 680 million. It is rumored that ex army generals are involved in drug smuggling from Burma through Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore. Then there is the smuggling of fuel from Malaysia to Thailand. Sea piracy, arms smuggling like the recent case of army personnel that was caught and human trafficing etc. Ask yourself how can 9000 badly trained and armed terrorist keep an army of 400 000 busy for decades. Some wars armies want to win others are too profitable to win.

[YetAnother]

"Do not forget that we have 400,000 to 500,000 troops. Manas is just one person. Can he alone ruin the whole Army?” Prayut responded furiously. "

So Thai; do not deal with the problem.

And go into heavy duty blame-shifting,

at all cost, no matter how stupid ,defocus the problem

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

If you go back in history you will find that the army here is run like a mafia ring, well there is in actual fact 2 rings. The one that is in control now the Eastern Tigers made their money from gemstone smuggling in the 70's and 80's from Cambodia. How do you think a head of the army that earned pre tax B 1 million in his last 2 years of service could retire with assets of B 680 million. It is rumored that ex army generals are involved in drug smuggling from Burma through Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore. Then there is the smuggling of fuel from Malaysia to Thailand. Sea piracy, arms smuggling like the recent case of army personnel that was caught and human trafficing etc. Ask yourself how can 9000 badly trained and armed terrorist keep an army of 400 000 busy for decades. Some wars armies want to win others are too profitable to win.

Wow ,pretty stinging

[Srikcir]

On 7/20/2017 at 5:01 AM, webfact said:

Can he alone ruin the whole Army?”

No. He apparently would have had a lot of high level military officers insure the NCPO Chief Prayut's inner circle of aides. That takes upper echelon support.

[heybruce]

On 7/20/2017 at 0:04 AM, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

If you go back in history you will find that the army here is run like a mafia ring, well there is in actual fact 2 rings. The one that is in control now the Eastern Tigers made their money from gemstone smuggling in the 70's and 80's from Cambodia. How do you think a head of the army that earned pre tax B 1 million in his last 2 years of service could retire with assets of B 680 million. It is rumored that ex army generals are involved in drug smuggling from Burma through Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore. Then there is the smuggling of fuel from Malaysia to Thailand. Sea piracy, arms smuggling like the recent case of army personnel that was caught and human trafficing etc. Ask yourself how can 9000 badly trained and armed terrorist keep an army of 400 000 busy for decades. Some wars armies want to win others are too profitable to win.

 

On 7/20/2017 at 1:35 AM, Father Fintan Stack said:

It was the logging of teak that made them the big money in the 90's. Hence the war against the Vietnamese occupiers in Cambodia had to continue. 

 

They kept supporting and gave safe haven haven to the Khmer Rouge cadres after the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1978, and they protected Pol Pot while he lived in Trat. This was of course with tactic approval from the US and Australia and probably would not have happened otherwise. 

 

By all accounts they are still involved in the illegal logging and it is a big money spinner for generals on both sides of the border. Anyone stepping on toes and illegally logging alone is usually shot or burnt alive.

During the Roman Empire, ambitious generals assigned to the frontiers would loot the provinces, often selling locals into slavery, to acquire the wealth to return to Rome and become major power players.  That seems to be how the Thai military works now.

[Tony125]

Doesn't just happen in Thailand--US report

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/missouri-businesses-raided-for-alleged-human-trafficking/ar-AAowe0c?li=BBnbfcL

[heybruce]

8 minutes ago, Tony125 said:

Doesn't just happen in Thailand--US report

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/missouri-businesses-raided-for-alleged-human-trafficking/ar-AAowe0c?li=BBnbfcL

An appalling crime, and I'm glad these businesses were busted.  However there is a difference in scale, and rule of law.  These criminals may have duped some women into the sex trade, but did so without assistance from the government.  The criminals also had an interest in keeping the women reasonably healthy.

 

The Rohingya and others:

 

" The court said it had been told that not enough food and water was provided to the detained Rohingya, who faced death threats designed to prevent them from using their phones or fleeing the camp. The court also said it had been told that victims were beaten up when they asked for more food and water. "

 

There is also the disturbing matter of mass graves of victims that didn't survive their captivity.

 

Of course the biggest difference is the obvious complicity of parts of the Thai government.  No intelligent person believes complicity was limited to Gen Manas and a few of his subordinates.