Police operation rescues young foreign girls from Bangkok streets
On February 14, a police operation against panhandling in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Road area led to the rescue of three young foreign girls. Lumphini police, alongside social workers and Ministry of Social Development and Human Security staff, conducted a sweep from Sukhumvit Soi 3 to the Asok intersection.
The operation resulted in the apprehension of 13 homeless women, comprising one Thai, 10 Cambodians, and two Laotians. Among the Cambodian group were three girls, aged between five and seven.
The detainees were processed at Lumphini Police Station for breaching the Begging Control Act. The Thai person faced charges of inciting pity to receive money or assets, while the migrants were also charged with being in Thailand unlawfully.
Foreign nationals were transported to a shelter in Nonthaburi province for DNA checks, and the children were taken to a children’s home in Bangkok. Efforts are underway to contact their parents or guardians.
Recent surveys indicate a rise in panhandlers in Bangkok’s urban areas, with beggars often accompanied by infants as young as one month old to elicit sympathy, reported Bangkok Post.
Bhuntin Noumjerm, a People’s Party MP for Bangkok, urged police to intensify their efforts. He advocates for DNA testing to verify the biological relationships between the adults and children they accompany.
Last year, Immigration officials apprehended a Cambodian woman again for begging in central Bangkok, this time with her three children. In 2023, she was deported with two children for similar offences but returned, citing the generosity of Thai citizens.
Police Colonel Kachapon Pathomang, the Investigation Superintendent of Immigration Division 1, and Police Lieutenant Colonel Suriya Puangsomboon, Deputy Superintendent of Investigations, along with their team, found a 33 year old Cambodian woman on September 10 last year, holding her child while begging at the foot of the skywalk stairs near Soi Sukhumvit 15.
Upon inspection, the woman admitted she had no passport and had illegally entered Thailand through the northeastern border.
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