Three Young Girls Rescued in Bangkok Police Crackdown on Panhandling
Bangkok – Authorities rescued three young foreign girls during a police operation targeting a panhandling network in the Asok area of Sukhumvit Road on Friday night.
Lumphini police, in collaboration with social workers and staff from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, conducted a sweep from Sukhumvit Soi 3 to the Asok intersection, detaining 13 homeless women. Among them were one Thai national, ten Cambodians, and two Laotians. The Cambodian group included three young girls, aged between five and seven.
All detainees were taken in for screening, with records filed at Lumphini Police Station under the Begging Control Act. The Thai suspect was charged with soliciting money through pity, while the foreign nationals faced the same charge along with violations of immigration laws for being in Thailand illegally.
Officials transferred the migrant women to a shelter in Nonthaburi province, where DNA verification will be conducted. Meanwhile, the three young girls were placed in the care of a children’s home in Bangkok as efforts continue to locate their parents or guardians.
Recent surveys indicate a rising number of panhandlers in Bangkok, with many using young children, sometimes infants, to garner sympathy from passersby. Bhuntin Noumjerm, a People’s Party MP for Bangkok, has urged authorities to take stricter measures, including DNA testing, to determine whether the adults accompanying these children are their biological relatives.
Authorities have pledged to continue efforts to dismantle panhandling networks and ensure the protection of vulnerable children caught in exploitative situations.
