Long-time Chinese overstayer goes viral asking for petrol money in Phuket

A long-time Chinese overstayer has gone viral on social media for footage of her asking for petrol money from people at a Phuket petrol station. The woman, 47 year old Fan Yang, had been overstaying her visa for a whopping 1,316 days.

The footage circling on TikTok shows some of Fan’s interactions with people at the station on Bypass Road in Rassada.

@noom_boriphan ตอนที่ 1 | เตือนภัย กลับมาอาละวาดอีกครั้งที่ปั๊มนี้ ครั้งนี้ครั้งที่4แล้ว เติมน้ำแล้วขอตังค์ลูกค้าท่านอื่นในปั๊ม #เตือนภัยภูเก็ต #ข่าวเตือนภัย ♬ เสียงต้นฉบับ – ใบตองเวดดิ้งหนองหานอุดร

The man who filmed Fan, Noom Boriphan, claimed this was the fourth time Fan had done this. He said in a caption that he was concerned about what it would do to Phuket’s image.

After the footage circled through social media, the commander of Phuket Provincial Police ordered officers to take action. Police then tracked Fan down at The Trees Club Resort Phuket in Moo 5, Kamala.

Fan admitted to police that she was the person from the videos. She also said she asked people for their bank accounts, claiming she intended to pay them back later. Fan said that some people wanted their money back but others did not.

Officers checked Fan’s passport and confirmed that she had overstayed by 1,316 days. The officers then brought Fan to Kamala Police Station, where she was charged with overstaying.

This news comes after the Deputy Police Chief and former Chief of Immigration Pol. Gen. Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn ordered a crackdown on foreign visa overstayers in Thailand last month. The crackdown followed the recent case of 41-year-old Ren Haibo. A Chinese gang kidnapped and tortured Ren in Chon Buri province. The gang cut off Ren’s little finger and sent a video to his girlfriend requesting a staggering ransom of 150 million baht.

Since then, police have been on the hunt for overstayers. Last week, Surat Thani immigration officers arrested a Norwegian man at a house in Koh Samui. Police said the man had overstayed his visa by 15 days.

On December 8, Immigration Police arrested a Polish man in Koh Samui, wanted on an Interpol red notice for assault and illegal possession of firearms. He had overstayed his student visa by 36 days, which was cancelled by immigration on November 3 because he didn’t attend classes.

On December 6, a British man was arrested in Srisaket province in northeast Thailand for overstaying his visa by 75 days. He said he only stayed because he loved Thailand so much, but immigration banned him from entering the kingdom for five years.

The same week, police busted a Kuwaiti overstayer on Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan. The man, 56-year-old Rashed Hea Juma, overstayed his visa by 16 days, according to police.

The penalties for overstaying foreigners who surrender themselves to immigration officers:

• • Overstaying less than 90 days will result in a fine of 500 baht/day (maximum 20,000 baht).
  • Overstaying more than 90 days will result in a one-year ban from entering the country and a fine of 20,000 baht.

• • Overstaying for more than one year will result in a three-year ban from entering the country and a fine of 20,000 baht.
  • Overstaying more than three years will result in a five-year ban from entering the country and a fine of 20,000 baht.
  • Overstaying more than five years will result in a 10-year ban from entering the country and a fine of 20,000 baht.

If an overstaying foreigner is caught by immigration officers:

• Overstaying from one day to one year will result in a five-year ban from entering the country and a fine from 500 to 20,000 baht.
• Overstaying more than one year will result in a ten-year ban from entering the country and a fine of 20,000 baht.