Sattahip —
Business owners and residents in the Sattahip district of Chonburi are concerned over potential tourism damage and human trafficking posed by migrant beggars.
According to local media reports, a number of migrant people were observed begging and selling goods to visitors at the temple fair of Wat Sattahip, which was taking place from October 6th to the 12th.
The individuals ranged from elderly, adult women, to young children, most of whom were women sitting with kids to elicit empathy from passersby.
Local media reported that Sattahip residents and businesses were worried that these people could pose a risk of damaging the district’s tourism image and could potentially also be engaged in human trafficking, as it was possible that the kids were not the women’s children and that they could be trafficked from neighboring countries.
The media said it witnessed a group of unidentified grown men instructing the beggars to sit at certain locations to beg as well. Most of the residents said they were unfamiliar with these people and that they were speaking foreign languages, which led them to believe that the beggars were from Thailand’s neighboring countries.
Sattahip residents called on relevant agencies to purge the area of these people, citing that they were harming tourism. They also urged law enforcement officers to find out if any Thai people or other nationals were involved in this operation and if they were exploiting children.
It was unclear, however, where Sattahip residents wanted the beggars “purged” too.
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