Bangkok: "Warawut" sends a team from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to track down the beggar with a pale face. Warawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Social Development and Human Security, has dispatched a team to the Ram Intra area following reports of a beggar with a pale face making a return. Warawut reiterated that begging is against the law and urged the public to refrain from giving money to beggars out of compassion.
According to Thai News Agency, the Minister disclosed that the Center for Accelerated Welfare Management of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security had reported progress after receiving a complaint. He instructed the relevant agencies to promptly investigate reports of a beggar woman with a disfigured face and a child seen begging at Ram Intra 21 Market in Bang Khen District, Bangkok. The Center for Accelerated Welfare Management stated that on February 14, 2025, officers from the Bangkok Homeless Protection Center and other relevant agencies inspected the area but did not find the beggar woman or child. They only encountered an individual with a valid talent identification card. Vendors and locals informed the officers that the beggar and child had not been seen for over two to three days, raising questions about their whereabouts.
Initial information revealed that the beggar woman is a 41-year-old foreigner who entered Thailand through a natural channel near the permanent checkpoint at Ban Laem, Chanthaburi Province. She has impaired vision and facial scars from a gas explosion. The woman, accompanied by her 12-year-old son, reportedly earns a living by begging at various flea markets in Thailand.
The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security continues to organize efforts with related agencies, including the police, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and local agencies, to address begging, which is illegal under the Begging Control Act B.E. 2559. The Ministry emphasizes the importance of public cooperation in reporting beggars and insists that the most effective solution to the issue is for people to stop giving money to beggars. Citizens are encouraged to contact the Center for Accelerated Public Welfare Management via the 24-hour hotline 1300 if they encounter any beggars or homeless individuals.