It’s a heartbreaking reunion. A long-lost man finally found his way home on Monday after almost 30 years.
Talerng Yongpukiao of Thong Saen Khan, Uttaradit province, reunited with his daughter after riding a bicycle 15 days to his hometown, Thairath Online reported on Monday.
Mr Talerng, 54, left home 29 years ago to find work in other provinces. After a while, he was deceived into working on a fishing boat plying the Andaman Sea where he remained for 15 years without being paid a single baht.
Col Prasitpong Moondee, deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command of Uttaradit, vowed to investigate into his case.
“Human trafficking, especially in the fishing sector, is a key policy of this government,” he said.
Authorities would reissue Mr Talerng an ID card and question him, but for now he would be allowed to adjust himself, he said.
In any case, the investigation is unlikely to be easy.
“Mr Talerng did not know the boat’s name as it was written in English. He could not remember the captain’s name either.
“All he knew is he got on the boat in Samut Sakhon on the Gulf of Thailand and got off it in Phangnga on the Andaman side,” Col Prasitpong said.
Mr Talerng told Thairath earlier he left home to find work in other provinces in 1989. He started as a welder in Rayong before moving on to Saraburi, where he took small jobs. He then worked at a cement factory in Samut Sakhon but soon found he was not paid and was left with 60 baht.
When he was asked to join a fishing boat, he agreed. “There were 68 workers on the vessel. The living conditions were horrible and the work was hard,” he said.
There were occasional fights and some crew were thrown from the deck, he added.
“I stayed on the boat and was never allowed to disembark.”
After 15 years, when the boat stopped in Phangnga, he hitchhiked a 10-wheel truck to drop him as close as possible to Bangkok.
“Since I had no money nor ID card, it was hard to find a job. I was finally hired by a small construction company in Nakhon Pathom. When I saved enough money, I bought a bicycle and rode home. I missed my daughter whom I left as a baby.”
He made stops to sleep on the journey at police booths, petrol stations and temples.
After 15 days, he reached Uttaradit but was reluctant to go straight home. “I was ashamed of myself. I didn’t look after my parents or take care of my daughter.”
It was not until someone from the village recognised him and told his daughter, who came to take him home.
Nattamon Yongphukiao, 31, his daughter, said her father last visited her when she was two years old. Since her mother died when she was three months old, she was raised by her grandparents.
Narongrit Konglert, the village head, said he would take Mr Talerng to apply for a new ID card. “There shouldn’t be a problem. His name is already on the house registration."
