Bingo! Gambian arrested for 7-year illegal stay on Koh Pha Ngan

Tourist Police arrested a Gambian man on Koh Pha Ngan, an island in the southern province of Surat Thani, on Friday, July 19, for illegally entering Thailand and staying on the island for more than seven years. He reportedly shouted “Bingo!” after being caught.

Koh Pha Ngan Tourist Police were conducting a crackdown on illegal foreigners when they encountered the suspicious man, later identified as 52 year old Gambian national Saikou Jawara. He was stopped by officers outside a bar on the island.

Jawara was reportedly frightened and shaking while police questioned him. He repeatedly shouted “Bingo!” This raised officers’ suspicions.

Police asked Jawara to present his passport and other entry documents but he could not produce them. Officers then asked for his name to check his entry history on the system, and Jawara initially falsely identified himself as John Akko.

Officers could not find that name in the system, so they searched his wallet and found his ID card with his real name. Records showed that Jawara had left Thailand on November 10, 2016, via Tammalang Pier in the southern province of Satun.

Jawara confessed that he had left Thailand at that time to live in Malaysia. He then lost his passport but wished to return to Thailand. He asked a Malaysian friend to help him enter illegally, paying the friend US$200 (approximately 7,200 baht) to enter with three other foreigners.

Jawara disclosed that he had been living with his girlfriend in Koh Pha Ngan since 2017. The woman claimed she had no knowledge of Jawara’s illegal entry and stay.

Jawara was charged under Section 81 of the Immigration Act: entering or staying in the Kingdom without permission or with expired permission. The penalty is imprisonment for up to two years and a fine of up to 20,000 baht.

In a related report, a French tourist was arrested in Koh Pha Ngan last month for overstaying his visa by three months. He had appointed himself as an Islamic religious leader, encouraging other foreign visitors to join religious ceremonies.