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Click on the photo to zoom inTaming the beggars' brigade
Hundreds of foreigners beg on Bangkok's streets
18/01/2010
Wassayos Ngamkham and Saritdet Marukatat
Bangkok Post
Over three days last week, immigration authorities swept up hundreds of beggars from the streets of Bangkok. Among them were 570 Cambodians, 200 of them children.
Staggered by the sheer scale of the problem, the immigration police realise that they are ill-equipped to deal with it and have now handed over the task to the police force's special unit which deals with human trafficking.
The Cambodians rounded up in the raid were all taken back to their own country through Aranyaprathet, but given the ingenuity of the smuggling gangs behind them, many are certain to make their way back to Thailand.
The roundup was aimed at ending public disturbances caused by beggars and to help the government with its aim to boost tourism, according to immigration chief Wuthi Liptapanlop. "Beggars disturb foreign tourists and damage the tourism image of Thailand," he said.
The bureau does not believe the problem can be solved until the gangs behind the smuggling of beggars into Thailand are put out of action. Thais and Cambodians are involved in the gangs.
Pol Lt Gen Wuthi's assessment echoes that of the Anti-Human Trafficking Division, which has taken over the mission from the bureau to try to break up the begging rings.
Deputy chief of the division Suvichphol Imchairattana says the smugglers are breaking the Human Trafficking Law which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and a 200,000 baht fine. The punishment is more severe for the smuggling of people under 18.
But Pol Col Suvichphol admits it is difficult trying to get a quick result because this is an area of police work unfamiliar to the division. Its main duty is to crack down on human traffickers involved in the flesh trade.
"It has to take it step by step with information from beggars and then officials trace it back to the recruiters," he said.
"It needs solid evidence to prove the smugglers are giving shelter to beggars to convince the courts to take action."
Information on the exact number of foreign beggars roaming the streets of Bangkok is not easy to find. The consensus among agencies like the immigration office is that most beggars are from Thailand's eastern neighbour and the rest are Burmese, Lao and Vietnamese.
They live in Cambodian provinces opposite the Thai border. Their favourite entry points are checkpoints in Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi, Trat, Surin and Si Sa Ket. Another route is to sail to northern Malaysia and then go into southern Thailand, mainly through Sungai Kolok district in Narathiwat.
Some beggars from Cambodia make their own way into Thailand and are then recruited by gangs.
The common pattern for the two groups is to make the beggars work in Thai provinces on the border first. After a couple of months of begging at the border, they move to suburban areas of Bangkok and eventually into the heart of the capital.
"Bangkok is their most popular destination. People in Bangkok do not care much about small change - five baht or 10 baht. They do not want to keep coins and are willing to give them away," Pol Lt Gen Wuthi said. The beggars can make at least 200 baht a day from begging in Bangkok.
The charges laid by Vietnamese authorities against a couple last week underline the fact that Thailand is a highly desired place for beggars.
Lam Minh Hoang, 59, and his wife Nguyen Thi Nga, 53, were charged with "organising other persons to flee abroad illegally", the German news service dpa quoted Vietnamese prosecutor Le Hong Bao as saying.
In 2003, the couple migrated illegally to Thailand, where they found that begging was highly profitable. In 2006, they returned to Vietnam, where they recruited 10 disabled people over the course of three years and sent them through Cambodia to Thailand to join a begging ring.
Prosecutors said the couple had rented two houses and assigned seven of the disabled to beg while three sold trinkets at pagodas and other public places. Each beggar and peddler paid the couple 300 baht a day and kept whatever profits they made.
Eight of the beggars fell out with the couple over the sharing of income and were sent back to Vietnam. Mr Hoang and Mrs Nga were arrested in June while returning to Vietnam from Cambodia.
The chiefs of the Immigration Bureau and Anti-Human Trafficking Division believe one solution to end begging lies with people who give. "Giving money only encourages more people to become beggars. This old way of thinking has to change," Pol Lt Gen Wuthi said.
The trafficking unit will work with the Social Development and Human Security Ministry on a campaign built around this theme. The message will build awareness that begging is illegal and supports and encourages human trafficking, Pol Col Suvichphol said.
Staggered by the sheer scale of the problem, the immigration police realise that they are ill-equipped to deal with it and have now handed over the task to the police force's special unit which deals with human trafficking.
The Cambodians rounded up in the raid were all taken back to their own country through Aranyaprathet, but given the ingenuity of the smuggling gangs behind them, many are certain to make their way back to Thailand.
The roundup was aimed at ending public disturbances caused by beggars and to help the government with its aim to boost tourism, according to immigration chief Wuthi Liptapanlop. "Beggars disturb foreign tourists and damage the tourism image of Thailand," he said.
The bureau does not believe the problem can be solved until the gangs behind the smuggling of beggars into Thailand are put out of action. Thais and Cambodians are involved in the gangs.
Pol Lt Gen Wuthi's assessment echoes that of the Anti-Human Trafficking Division, which has taken over the mission from the bureau to try to break up the begging rings.
Deputy chief of the division Suvichphol Imchairattana says the smugglers are breaking the Human Trafficking Law which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and a 200,000 baht fine. The punishment is more severe for the smuggling of people under 18.
But Pol Col Suvichphol admits it is difficult trying to get a quick result because this is an area of police work unfamiliar to the division. Its main duty is to crack down on human traffickers involved in the flesh trade.
"It has to take it step by step with information from beggars and then officials trace it back to the recruiters," he said.
"It needs solid evidence to prove the smugglers are giving shelter to beggars to convince the courts to take action."
Information on the exact number of foreign beggars roaming the streets of Bangkok is not easy to find. The consensus among agencies like the immigration office is that most beggars are from Thailand's eastern neighbour and the rest are Burmese, Lao and Vietnamese.
They live in Cambodian provinces opposite the Thai border. Their favourite entry points are checkpoints in Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi, Trat, Surin and Si Sa Ket. Another route is to sail to northern Malaysia and then go into southern Thailand, mainly through Sungai Kolok district in Narathiwat.
Some beggars from Cambodia make their own way into Thailand and are then recruited by gangs.
The common pattern for the two groups is to make the beggars work in Thai provinces on the border first. After a couple of months of begging at the border, they move to suburban areas of Bangkok and eventually into the heart of the capital.
"Bangkok is their most popular destination. People in Bangkok do not care much about small change - five baht or 10 baht. They do not want to keep coins and are willing to give them away," Pol Lt Gen Wuthi said. The beggars can make at least 200 baht a day from begging in Bangkok.
The charges laid by Vietnamese authorities against a couple last week underline the fact that Thailand is a highly desired place for beggars.
Lam Minh Hoang, 59, and his wife Nguyen Thi Nga, 53, were charged with "organising other persons to flee abroad illegally", the German news service dpa quoted Vietnamese prosecutor Le Hong Bao as saying.
In 2003, the couple migrated illegally to Thailand, where they found that begging was highly profitable. In 2006, they returned to Vietnam, where they recruited 10 disabled people over the course of three years and sent them through Cambodia to Thailand to join a begging ring.
Prosecutors said the couple had rented two houses and assigned seven of the disabled to beg while three sold trinkets at pagodas and other public places. Each beggar and peddler paid the couple 300 baht a day and kept whatever profits they made.
Eight of the beggars fell out with the couple over the sharing of income and were sent back to Vietnam. Mr Hoang and Mrs Nga were arrested in June while returning to Vietnam from Cambodia.
The chiefs of the Immigration Bureau and Anti-Human Trafficking Division believe one solution to end begging lies with people who give. "Giving money only encourages more people to become beggars. This old way of thinking has to change," Pol Lt Gen Wuthi said.
The trafficking unit will work with the Social Development and Human Security Ministry on a campaign built around this theme. The message will build awareness that begging is illegal and supports and encourages human trafficking, Pol Col Suvichphol said.
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