Chinese couple deported over passport sale billboard in Bangkok
The Immigration Bureau blacklisted a Chinese woman from entering Thailand and deported her Chinese husband over a controversial advertising billboard about passport sales at the Huay Kwang Intersection in Bangkok.
Thai netizens recently shared a picture of a Chinese billboard that advertised a service for issuing passports for Indonesia, Vanuatu, Cambodia, and Turkey, raising suspicions about whether the service was provided legally according to Thai laws.
After many netizens demanded an investigation into the billboard, officers found that it was installed illegally on a building at the intersection, leading to the building owner facing a 5,000 baht fine. Officers also found that the owner of the sign had not yet paid the sign tax.
Following a search for the billboard’s owner, officers found that it belonged to a company based in Hong Kong. The company hired a Chinese woman in Thailand, identified as 35 year old Xu Na, to create and install the billboard.
Xu Na insisted that she did not run the passport service herself but was hired by a Hong Kong-based company to create the billboard and rent the wall space of the building to install it. She received a fee of about 17,000 baht for the billboard and other signs she facilitated.
Further investigation into the involved suspects led police to Xu Na’s Chinese husband, 35 year old Qin Lin. Xu Na admitted that the phone number on the billboard belonged to her husband. The Chinese man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi International Airport while he was about to leave Thailand.
Blacklist and deportation
According to Xu Na, Qin Lin was responsible for coordinating with customers who contacted her for the passport service of the company in Hong Kong. She insisted that no customer had contacted them at the time of police intervention.
Aside from involvement in the billboard, police also discovered that Qin Lin was wanted by Chinese police for illegally issuing and distributing fake identification cards.
Following their actions, Xu Na was charged with being a foreigner working without a permit. The penalty is imprisonment for up to four months and a fine of 5,000 baht. The court suspended her punishment for a year but she was blacklisted from entering Thailand.
Qin Lin will be transferred to China for the crimes he committed in his home country. Officers did not clarify whether the Chinese man would be blacklisted like his wife.
Regarding the legality of the passport service, no official has come forward to clarify the matter. One news agency reported that the police will conduct further investigations into the intention behind the passport sales to determine whether they facilitated any illegal operations.
UPDATE 1: Chinese woman detained over illegal passport ad in Thailand
Royal Thai Police (RTP) detained a Chinese woman for allegedly commissioning and installing a controversial advertisement promoting passport services for relocating to another country. The suspect claims she was merely an intermediary working for a company in Hong Kong and communicated via a Chinese app and LINE, earning 17,000 baht for her role.
The RTP, led by Thiti Sangsawang and Itthiphon Itthisarnronchai, orchestrated the operation. They directed several senior officers, including Panthana Nuchanarot and Noppasin Poolsawat, to bring in the Chinese woman, Nasu, from a condominium in Huai Khwang. The interrogation took place at the Investigation Division of the Immigration Bureau after it was discovered that she had commissioned a shop to create and install the contentious advertisement.
Nasu revealed during the interrogation that she had taken on the job from a Hong Kong-based company. The contact was established through a Chinese application, and further communication was handled via LINE.
She was responsible for coordinating the rental and installation of the billboard, for which she received a monthly payment of 150,000 baht for the rental and 60,000 baht for creating the sign. Nasu received a fee of US$500, roughly 17,000 baht, for each sign she facilitated. However, she did not know the name of the company that hired her, only having contact through a LINE account featuring the image of the person on the sign.
Police charged Nasu with working in Thailand without the necessary permits. The Metropolitan Police Bureau and the Immigration Bureau are continuing their investigation to identify the true orchestrators behind the operation.
The Huai Khwang District Director revealed the advertisement for passport services is illegal.
“The building where the sign was installed did not have the proper permits, and there is no corruption among our officials.”
The Immigration Bureau also clarified that the advertisement had no connection with acquiring Thai nationality. This is a matter of another country’s government’s prerogative, they explained.
The controversial Chinese-language advertisement, which promoted passport services for relocating to another country, has since been removed from the Huai Khwang intersection. The authorities are actively working to find those responsible for commissioning the ad, reported Khaosod.
ORIGINAL STORY: Chinese passport sale billboard in Bangkok raises legal concerns
Police and Thai government officials are investigating a puzzling billboard in Bangkok‘s Huai Kwang district advertising the sale of passports from different countries in Chinese.
A Thai Facebook user shared a picture of the billboard with the caption, “This is at Huai Kwang Intersection. I guess it’s about passport sales. You’re committing a crime, obviously. In case you don’t know, Google Translate is available in Thailand.”
The advertisement on the billboard stated that passports from Indonesia, Vanuatu, Cambodia, and Turkey could be obtained within 30 days, with service fees ranging from 30,000 to 150,000 baht. It also claimed the process was safe and confidential, that the company had been operating for 13 years and it was government-approved.
The billboard also invited applications for agent positions and appeared to target Chinese nationals, as no other languages were included. It was installed above a Chinese restaurant. Huai Kwang area is known for its large Chinese community.
A motorcycle taxi rider reported that two men installed the sign a few days before it went viral and it was removed shortly after. He and others did not care much about the sign until they learned of its translation from the Facebook post.
Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Phantana Nutchanart, clarified that the billboard was not illegal as it did not include Thai passports and the advertised passports of each country could be legally obtained by foreigners.
Legality remains unclear
Many Thai netizens and a Move Forward Party MP, Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, expressed concerns and called for a thorough investigation into the company behind the service.
Wiroj highlighted the uncertainty of whether the passports could be issued legally and warned that if not, Thailand could be seen as a centre for transnational crime.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, voiced his opinion that the sale of passports is illegal in many countries and ordered an investigation into the matter.
“We welcome foreigners who come to Thailand but we hate those who come for illegal operations. This act degrades Thailand. Anyone who commits illegal acts must be deported. We always support foreign business operators who follow the laws to make them confident that Thailand is safe and the economy is expanding.”
Huai Kwang District Director Paithun Ngammuk confirmed the billboard was installed illegally and said the building owner would be fined 5,000 baht. The Thai owner of the company behind the billboard was hit with an 84,000-baht sign tax bill, a hefty fine given it was only up two days and the yearly sign tax total is 160,000 per year.
According to Paithun, the legality of the company’s operations remains unclear and is under further investigation.
