Police raid illegal Chinese electronic waste warehouses

Police raided three warehouses after receiving an air pollution complaint from locals in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok. Officers found a huge amount of electronic waste in the warehouses and discovered that two of them were operated illegally by Chinese citizens.

Police from Lam Luke Ka Police Station and officers from the Pathum Thani Provincial Industry Office raided the three electronic waste warehouses in the Lam Luke Ka district of Pathum Thani on Monday.

Twenty workers were found separating and sorting electronic waste inside the warehouse.

Officers checked business licenses and found that two warehouses were operating without factory operation licenses, hazardous substance possession licenses, and a license for a business detrimental to health.

The commissioner of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division, Watcharin Phusit, reported to Khaosod that the owners of the three warehouses were Chinese citizens.

Officers revealed the owners and those involved would be charged for violating the Factory Act, Hazardous Substances Act, and Public Health Act.

The identities of the warehouse owners and the relevant people involved have not been named by the police.

Businesses in Thailand run by Chinese citizens have become a hot topic on social media since a Thai restaurant owner revealed that a number of new food shops and restaurants owned by Chinese people have opened on Yaowarat Road. He questioned whether foreigners can open a business in Thailand.

The Thai restaurant owner of Among Mala Hotpot on Yaowarat Road urged relevant departments to investigate those businesses and clarify whether or not they were all operating legally.

The director-general of the Business Development Department, Thosapone Dansuputra, revealed that foreigners are not allowed to open businesses selling food and drinks in the kingdom.

Those who want to open businesses reserved for Thai citizens must obtain permission first. If they have a Thai partner, the partner must show a bank account to prove that they have financial resources and take part in the investment.

Thosapone threatened Thai citizens with up to three years in prison and a fine of 100,000 to 1 million baht if they allowed their names to be listed as nominees.