Rome: ‘Rome’ warns Thais not to stay in Cambodia beyond their visa due to high fines, fearing that it will open the way for employers to reduce salaries and collect bribes. Preparing to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to solve the problem of Thais stranded in Poipet, urging the government to break down the transnational crime structure to reduce the problem of call center gangs. Mr. Rangsiman Rome, MP for the party list and deputy leader of the Prachachon Party, as chairman of the National Security Committee, Thai Border Affairs, National Strategy and National Reform, said after a joint meeting between security agencies and relevant administrative agencies.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Rangsiman said that it must be admitted that Sa Kaeo Province has many problems, especially the border economy. When Thailand has control and Cambodia has closed the border, it has severely affected the economy. In this matter, there is no other way than negotiation between both parties to find a solution. It depends on what the government will do, taking into account many factors.
Mr. Rangsiman continued that regarding the call center gang, there is only small-scale suppression, which cannot break the structure of transnational crime. In the past, there has not been much action. The committee has provided information to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on the target group of human trafficking networks and call center gangs, approximately seven people, in the hope that it will lead to an expansion of the investigation. Information suggests some privately owned areas may be related to the call center gang and the police in the area, involved in bringing people to be part of the call center gang. There has not been any investigation yet. The Anti-Money Laundering Office’s tools are needed to investigate. If there is an investigation, it will be fast because there is already information in the system.
Mr. Rangsiman also pointed out a process of separating victims and criminals. The committee has advised that the information of people who enter the process must be used to expand the results. There is an argument that the process of separating victims and criminals has problems that have been criticized. Adjustments between the civil society and government sectors are necessary to make this process more effective.
As for Thais stranded in Poipet, information shows there are as many as 1,500-2,000 people. There will be discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about what measures to take to help them. If Thais overstay their visas, the Cambodian side has harsher fines than Thailand, making it difficult for them to return to Thailand. This morning, the committee went to the area to record images of people who entered Thailand without using the normal channels. These people were unable to return through the normal channels because they overstayed their visas in Cambodia and had no money to pay the fines. These people may have been honest workers and not part of a call center gang. There are still many of them. Therefore, the public is warned to be careful not to overstay because sometimes when employers find out about visa overstays, they will reduce salaries, and people will come to collect bribes. Some people become beggars in Cambodia. There is an urgent need for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to see what measu
res to take.