Millionaire Thai beggar caught in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit crackdown. A woman found with ฿300K cash and ฿1M bank deposits denies begging, claiming banana sales income. Police, tackling illegal beggars amid a tourism boom, reveal high earnings of up to ฿100K monthly.
Police from Lumpini Police Station and Immigration Bureau officers staged a crackdown on a busy area of Sukhumvit on Thursday night. The target was beggars. However, among 12 street beggars taken into custody was a Thai woman with ฿300,000 in cash and ฿1 million in bank deposits. The government, since June, has been trying to wipe out the activity, with the Social Development and Human Security Minister in June revealing that those involved make an average of ฿100,000 in income per month.
A pre-Christmas blitz on beggars in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok on Thursday night revealed one Thai woman who was particularly well-suited to the craft. Police from Lumpini Police Station, backed up by officers from Immigration Bureau Division One, swooped on intersections quite popular with foreign tourists.
In short, this was the area from Asoke BTS to the famous Nana intersection. The latter is one of the city’s notorious Nana adult entertainment complexes.
At this time, Bangkok is teeming with foreign tourists enjoying the city’s famed nightlife, bars, and entertainment venues.
Police crackdown on beggars in Sukhumvit hotspot to tackle proliferation and improve city’s image
A briefing on the police operations was given by Police Major General Phanumas Boonlak, presently the Immigration Bureau acting chief. Senior officers and personnel from the bureau were among the police who confronted the beggars. Many were found sitting or lying near the entrances to the city’s BTS stations or other structures along the road.
The sweep was ordered because of a reported proliferation of beggars in this particular area. Police Major General Phanumas warned that it badly reflected Thailand’s image. Furthermore, under Thai law, the activity is illegal. Indeed, it can be punished by up to one month’s imprisonment.
Afterwards, police revealed that 12 beggars had been detained in the sweep. Among them were eight Thais and four foreign nationals. The latter included two Cambodians, one Burmese, and a beggar from Laos.
Thai woman found with ฿1.3 million claims money came from selling bananas and insurance, not begging
In particular, one of the Thai beggars, a woman, had ฿300,000 in cash on her person. Furthermore, when questioned by officers, they discovered she possessed a bank book with over ฿1 million on deposit.
However, at the scene, the woman, dressed in a black dress with white prints, denied the money found was obtained through begging. In short, she claimed that it was the proceeds of selling fried bananas. In addition, she claimed she also worked at the same time selling insurance.
The number of foreigners on Thursday night’s swoop confirmed claims made in June by Varawut Silpa-archa. This is Thailand’s Minister of Social Development and Human Security. Previously, the minister ordered regular sweeps of tourist hotspots in Thailand. Especially in Bangkok and areas such as Sukhumvit.
Minister warns 30% of beggars in Thailand are foreigners exploiting generous tourists in high season
At that time, Minister Varawut warned that 30% of all beggars were foreigners. In particular, he said they thrived during the foreign tourism high season when they received substantial donations from foreign tourists enjoying their holidays.
Significantly, he confirmed that on average these actors earned approximately ฿100,000 per month. Moreover, police have detained no less than 7,000 of them over the last 10 years.
Afterwards, instead of facing jail, many were sent to receive vocational training or instruction on how to earn a living. Nonetheless, the foreign beggars on the streets were often specially trained before coming to Thailand in the art of begging.
Chinese visa scheme linked to Chinese beggars on Bangkok’s streets as PM accepts its failures
Foreign tourists warned of transnational pickpockets in Bangkok and conmen purporting to be police
Earlier in the year, the Metropolitan Police Bureau had taken action against foreign gangs involved in pickpocketing in addition to networks of beggars.
Join the Thai News forum, follow Thai Examiner on Facebook here
Receive all our stories as they come out on Telegram here
Follow Thai Examiner here
Further reading:
Foreign tourists warned of transnational pickpockets in Bangkok and conmen purporting to be police
Chinese visa scheme linked to Chinese beggars on Bangkok’s streets as PM accepts its failures
Chinese police patrols plan dumped by ministers quickly after public backlash threatened to erupt
Police Chief rebuffs reports of Chinese Police being deployed to Thailand to protect tourists
Police chief confirms 2 dead with reports of at least one more fatality in Bangkok mass shooting
Police arrest Chinese kidnapper with similar details to an abduction for ransom case in April
New visa-free regime plan for Chinese tourists will see more criminal elements entering Thailand
Crackdown on crime wave against Chinese tourists in Bangkok as concerns also raised on cannabis
Chinese kidnapping victim held by Immigration police and facing extradition over fraud case
