Belgian arrested after living and working in Thailand without a passport for 4 years

A 49 year old Belgian man has been arrested by Thai immigration police after being discovered living in the Kingdom without a passport. The man was reported to be living in an apartment at Wang Thonglang, a north east suburb of Bangkok. Officials started an investigation into a “good looking European man” that spoke fluent Thai and discovered that the man has been living in the same apartment for over 4 years.

Residents told immigration officials that the man often brought Thai women to his apartment. It didn’t appear that he had a job either, according to the neighbours. Officials went to inspect the apartment.

Immigration officials say they had no information showing ‘Prima’ entering Thailand. Once they dug further they found that Prima had been arrested for forgery in 1999. His name was on the blacklist, meaning that he would have been refused entry if he’d tried to enter Thailand through the usual channels. Prima told police that after he was deported back to Belgium, he attempted to arrive back through Suvarnabhumi Airport 6 years ago but was denied entry by Immigration officials. Instead of flying back to Belgium, Prima flew to Myanmar, then to Cambodia. He then crossed into Thailand illegally across local trading passages.

Whilst living in Thailand Prima told police that he was contacted by a talent agent because he was able to speak Thai fluently. Prima has acted in drama series and movies in supporting roles in the prolific Thai film industry. He became the ‘go to’ token foreigner when Thai films were looking for a ‘farang’ in their film. Immigration Police have arrested the actor with charges relating to entering the Kingdom without permission. The suspect is now at the Wang Thonglang Police Station waiting for prosecution.

SOURCE: Immigration.go.th | Thai Residents