Three young foreign girls were rescued during a police crackdown on a panhandling operation in the Asok area of Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok on Friday night.
Lumphini police, social workers and staff from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security carried out a sweep of beggars from Sukhumvit Soi 3 to the Asok intersection.
They apprehended 13 homeless women — one Thai, 10 Cambodians and two Laotians. Among the Cambodians were three girls aged five to seven.
The detainees were taken in for screening, and arrest records were filed at the Lumphini station for violating the Begging Control Act.
The Thai suspect was charged with causing others to feel pity and receiving money or assets. The migrants were charged with the same offence and for being in Thailand unlawfully.
Officials took the foreign nationals to a shelter in Nonthaburi province for DNA verification, while the children were placed in care of a children’s home in Bangkok. Efforts will be made to contact their parents or guardians.
According to recent surveys, the number of panhandlers in urban areas of Bangkok continues to increase. The beggars often bring along infants, some as young as one month old, to draw sympathy.
Bhuntin Noumjerm, a People’s Party MP for Bangkok, suggested that authorities take serious action. He recommended DNA tests to confirm whether the adults and children they were seen with have a biological relationship.
