Overstaying former pro footballer arrested for hawking lottery tickets in Thailand
Immigration police were suspicious when they came across a Chinese man roaming around Nong Khai province in northeast Thailand selling overpriced lottery tickets earlier today. Upon checking his documents, police found he had overstayed his visa by well over seven years (2782 days).
Nong Khai Immigration Police arrested 33 year old Xiang Lix of Chinese nationality on three charges, “being an alien residing in the kingdom without permission,” “being an alien working without permission (hawking government lottery tickets),” and “selling government lottery tickets at a higher price than specified by law.”
Lix flew into Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on January 29, 2015, with a Non-B type visa valid until April 28, 2015. He played football professionally for Khon Kaen FC in Thai League 3 and went on to play for Loei City FC in the same league.
The pro footballer said that he didn’t receive wages for many months, so he turned to illegally selling lottery tickets to support his wife – a native of Loei province – and his young children.
Police detained Lix and said he will be prosecuted according to the law.
Lix’s 2782-day illegal stay in Thailand narrowly beats that of another Chinese overstayer arrested outside a condominium in Bangkok last month. After entering Thailand on July 24, 2015, on a 15-day tourist visa, 35 year old Li Liang overstayed for 2662 days. He didn’t want to return to China for fear of religious persecution for his beliefs in the Falun Gong movement.
Immigration police have been arresting illegal foreigners day-in-an-day-out since former Immigration Chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn ordered a crackdown on visa overstayers last month.
On Tuesday, police busted a British man in Srisaket province in northeast Thailand who overstayed his visa by two months because he “loves Thailand.”
Another notable case was that of a Korean woman arrested in Bangkok recently for stealing over 5 million baht worth of her friend’s assets. Police checked her passport to find she had overstayed in Thailand for six years.
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