Four nabbed far from home

CHALONG: Three people from a northern hilltribe were arrested on Tuesday for being outside their legal residential area, and one more was charged with foreign currency exchange offenses. Ai-lhu Praiboonserm, a 23-year-old hillsman with Thai citizenship, was arrested in the Phuket Country Home estate where he was allegedly working as a tour guide without a licence. Police say he was also illegally exchanging foreign currency for Thai baht. The other three – two women and a man – were caught in a wat three hours earlier. The three, who are permitted to live only in Chiang Rai, were caught selling soft drinks at a booth in the Wat Tai area. They said they had arrived in Phuket a couple of months ago. “Our hometown has flooded, so there are no jobs there for us,” one said. “So we came to Phuket.” The three will be fined 1,000 baht each and sent back to Chiang Rai. Ai-lhu will face court later.