Thai women cautioned over marriage scams with Chinese nationals

Police cautioned Thai women considering marriage to Chinese nationals against possible legal infringements in both Thailand and China. According to a report on Monday, the alert followed revelations by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD) that a case involving a Thai woman from Udon Thani, subjected to marriage scams, and three years of abuse in China, did not constitute human trafficking.

Deputy commander of the ATPD, Police Colonel Surapong Chatsut, clarified that the 31 year old woman involved, identified as Nuch opted to sign a contract to marry a Chinese man and have a child, thereby ruling out a case of human trafficking. Previously, Nuch confessed that a matchmaker named Da duped her and three other women into marrying Chinese men. The conditions were a 100,000 baht (US$2,900) dowry and the requirement to conceive within six months.

Shockingly, the women ended up serving as housemaids or potentially even secondary wives to their fathers-in-law following childbirth. After being subjected to distressing treatment and family life in China, Nuch and the three other Thai women managed to return to Thailand last month with her mother’s intervention.

Nuch wedded a 32 year old Chinese national, Jin Wei Lian, within only three days of their initial matchmaking encounter. Despite voicing her inability to bear children prior to the marriage, the wedding proceeded. Consequently, Nuch faced the brunt of assault at the hands of her husband and mother-in-law due to her ongoing childlessness.

The ATPD emphasised that for a situation to be categorised as human trafficking, a forceful act must transpire. The Anti-Trafficking Act 2008 covers a range of offences, encompassing prostitution, generating and disseminating pornographic content, slavery, pressurising individuals into begging and forcing labour.

To determine similarities in such marriage scams, ATPD officers embarked on investigative excursions in Udon Thani. Taking into account the upturned lives of women like Nuch, Deputy Commander Police Colonel Surapong expressed concern for women who might have consented to such marriage contracts without a thorough comprehension of the involved risks.

The issue casts a shadow on the prospect of relationships with foreign nationals for Thai women. This issue arises in the wake of the revocation of China’s one-child policy, stimulating Chinese men to seek potential spouses outside their local territories.

In light of preventing illegal activities perpetrated by Chinese criminals from Thailand, Pol. Maj. Gen. Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau (IB), announced stringent action plans. Such actions aim at prohibiting the arrival of Chinese fugitives evading legislation within their home country.

In a concluding remark, Pol. Maj. Gen. Panthana underscored potential legal and personal risks faced by women signing marriage contracts to reside in China. He emphasized that these decisions might have legal implications in China and Thailand.

The men involved in these arrangements coming from China will also have to abide by the Immigration Act in Thailand, necessitating an immediate notification of their arrival to the IB. The Thai and Chinese authorities jointly concluded a conference on countering trans-border crimes in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, China, from July 8-12.

The conference facilitated an exchange of information, aiding both countries in devising constrictive and preventive measures. In a significant development, the Chinese authorities agreed to bestow their database of criminal suspects facing Chinese arrest warrants, potentially fleeing to Thailand.