The big ‘fake’ Indian wedding

A police crackdown had led to the arrest of 28 people involved in a marriage scam for Indian nationals who seek to stay in Thailand long term.

The suspects include a 53 year old Thai-Indian man who acted as a marriage broker and prepared the documents needed, while the other 27 are Thai women who were allegedly paid 8,000-10,000 baht to marry the Indian men.

Following police checks on over 8,000 Indian nationals staying in the country, 127 visas have been revoked.

Eleven Indian men, who initially entered the country on a tourist visa, have been arrested and charged with hiring Thai women for marriage.

Thailand’s Action Taskforce is warning Thai women to not take part in these scams, and warns that those who do get married for money, will be arrested and charged.

Then, upon further investigation, police found that some of the Thai women involved in the scam were married to up to three foreigners, and one of the women who applied for the marriage licence was 70 years old.

The scam came to light in May last year, when some Thai women in Wang Muang district in central Thailand, found their names on marriage certificates despite never having been married.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post