Cambodian woman caught begging in Bangkok with three children

Immigration officials have apprehended a Cambodian woman again for begging in central Bangkok, this time with her three children. Last year, 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 yesterday, September 10, 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.

During the arrest, the officers recognised the woman from a previous incident on July 10 last year, when the same investigation team arrested her for begging at Siam Square with her two children.

After her initial arrest and deportation back to Cambodia, the woman had another child, now approximately one year old. She decided to re-enter Thailand illegally with her three children, resorting to begging once more. She claimed it was a lucrative occupation due to the benevolence of Thai people and sympathetic foreign tourists who frequently bought her food and water, and gave her money. The woman confessed she could earn between 1,000 and 2,000 baht daily, almost every day.

“Thai people are kind-hearted, and tourists feel sorry for us and give us money.”

The woman insisted that she brought her children to beg on her own accord and that there were no gangs or individuals behind her actions.

The woman and her children are now in police custody, and further legal actions are expected, reported KhaoSod.

In related news, police apprehended 10 Cambodian beggars, including children, and are preparing to deport them. The police urge Thai citizens not to give money to beggars, revealing that children are often exploited in such operations. Police officers conducted a raid last Friday, September 6, on three rooms occupied by Cambodian beggars in Ram Inthra subdistrict, Khan Na Yao district, Bangkok.