Thai Authorities Detain Alleged Chinese Beggars Amid Suspicions of Local Involvement

National—

On November 21st, 2023, Pol. Lt. Gen. Amnat Traiphot, deputy commissioner general of the Metropolitan Police, held a press conference on six alleged Chinese beggars who were captured from November 10th to the 20th, 2023.

One of the six alleged Chinese beggars was deported to China and the rest were under investigation at the Thai Immigration detention room.
According to the report from the Thai police, initially, it was suspected Thai people may be involved in the case and the Thai authorities would take legal action against those who provided shelter to the alleged Chinese beggars.

One of the alleged beggars requested to change from a tourist visa to a student visa as it would extend their time to stay in Thailand. The group of beggars chose to ask for money in busy areas such as tourist attractions.

They reportedly appeared as a disabled persons to prey on Thais’ weaknesses to donate large sums of money. It was reported that they allegedly made 10,000 baht per day.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Amnat further added the Thai police will raise the alarm to thoroughly check Chinese tourists with deformed bodies entering Thailand who may want to be beggars on Thai streets. This has, however, drawn outrage from activist groups concerned this could target innocent disabled people.

Read about the Thai authorities cracking down on beggar networks in Bangkok.

The Thai Ministry of Social Development and Human Security showed in recent statistics that of a total of 7,161 people involved in illegally asking for money on Thai streets that 4,688 Thais and 2,473 foreigners were reportedly Myanmar nationals and Cambodian nationals working in underground networks.