Aranyaprathet: Thai construction workers were left devastated after being cheated out of their wages in Cambodia. Seized of their ID cards and unable to endure the situation any longer, they fled back to Thailand under the cover of night.
According to Thai News Agency, the Burapha Task Force, specifically the Aranyaprathet Task Force and 1201st Military Company, apprehended ten Thai workers attempting to cross the border illegally. The workers were found climbing onto the roof of a building near the Ban Klong Luek permanent border crossing in Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province. They shared a distressing account of being lured to Phnom Penh for construction work, only to be left unpaid for months and stripped of their identification.
During the investigation, the workers recounted being recruited through Facebook, with promises of earning 300 baht per day. However, after a month of labor, they received no payment. Desperate to return home, their employer transported them to Poipet before abandoning them. A guide then demanded 3,000 baht for assistance, which they could not afford, prompting them to find their own way back by climbing onto a rooftop. It was there that military rangers discovered them.
The authorities have since taken the workers to Khlong Luek Police Station for necessary assistance and legal proceedings.