Little ghost: Thai worker livestreams arrest in South Korea (video)

Immigration officers in South Korea arrested an illegal Thai worker while she was livestreaming on Facebook. Despite warnings from viewers about the authorities’ arrival, she was unable to escape in time.

The Thai woman, 54 year old Pen, known online as Aunty Pen, was arrested at a grocery store in Hwaseong City on Wednesday, June 5. Despite working illegally, Pen was not afraid of being arrested and regularly livestreamed her daily life in South Korea.

An illegal worker in South Korea is known as Phi Noi, which means little ghost.

During the livestream, on the day of her arrest, Pen noticed a suspicious bus parked outside the store. Pen told her audience about the suspicious vehicle. Some of her viewers suspected that it was a criminal transport vehicle belonging to immigration officers.

Pen, on the other hand, suspected that the bus might belong to a nearby manufacturing plant, used for picking up workers. She asked her viewers to help identify the bus, and many warned her that the vehicle with registration number 1972 belonged to immigration officers. Despite these warnings, Pen carried on enjoying her coffee and working as usual.

As more viewers confirmed the vehicle’s connection to immigration, Pen began to panic and ran to hide. She did not end the livestream and informed her audience that she would hide in a basement.

Her livestream continued until she was arrested and taken to the “suspicious car” she earlier identified. Pen and the South Korean authorities were heard talking before her livestream was cut off. The last scene revealed Pen sitting in a criminal transport vehicle.

Facebook page Poetry of B*tch reported that Pen had been living and working in South Korea illegally for nearly 12 years. She planned to return to Thailand in two years, even stating in a livestream that authorities did not need to arrest her.

Pen also alerted her followers to the heightened efforts of immigration authorities to apprehend illegal workers, wishing them luck in avoiding detection. Unfortunately, she was apprehended just a few weeks later.

It is anticipated that Pen will be deported back to Thailand soon, based on similar previous cases.