Kidnap gangs a real danger to youths, parents warned

**dirtydog** · 18-04-2007, 06:54 PM

Kidnap gangs a real danger to youths, parents warned

Labour Protection and Welfare Department chief Padungsak Thephasdin na Ayutthaya Wednesday warned parents nationwide of kidnapping gangs during the school break.

Seven hundred and seventy five children under 18 have gone missing in the past three years and most disappeared during the summer break according to the Royal Thai Police report, he said.

Last year alone, 82 children were reported missing and from last October to this March a further 14 children "had disappeared", he added.

Padungsak urged parents to watch out for criminals among the crowds and to tip off police about any suspicious incidents. He also asked people witnessing child labour abuses to call the Labour Ministry at 1506.

Padungsak cited a case of two young male teenagers from Buri Ram on their way to look for construction jobs in Bangkok, but were drugged in the toilets at Mor Chit bus station. They later regained consciousness on an offshore fishing boat and were told they had been sold for Bt10,000 each and to work without payment for seven months, he said.

In the end, the department helped them out and got the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to give them assistance money Bt1,900 each. The pair returned to Buri Ram where the labour office provided them with vocational training.

The Nation

**Begbie** · 18-04-2007, 08:30 PM

Sounds unreal but this is no joke.

A couple of years ago a supply boat working with an oil rig miles off the east coast of Malaysia picked up a naked swimmer from the water during the middle of the night. He was a Thai and his story was he'd been held prisoner on a fishing boat for over a year. Said he'd seen others murdered and thrown over the side.

Imagine how someone would risk jumping into the sea miles from land to escape this.

**blackgang** · 18-04-2007, 09:58 PM

Damn, thats really something in this day and age,, Yes sir LOS..

**RDN** · 18-04-2007, 11:05 PM

This is a story my g/f told me a few weeks ago. I was going to start a topic about it, but never found the time. This news report has prompted me do just that.

My g/f comes from Sisaket. When she was 9 or 10 a girl from her village went missing. The girl's parents came to ask my g/f's parents if they'd seen her because they couldn't find her. The police also couldn't find any trace. This was about 15 years ago.

Then in March this year, my g/f's mother told her that a good friend from another village nearby said that they saw a black van with no number plates in their village. Two people got out and asked the friend's daughter - about 15 years old - directions to somewhere. The girl went to speak to them and the strangers grabbed her and drove off. This was in plain site of the mother. The girl has not been seen since and the police cannot trace her. The girl's mother is naturally distraught.

A short time after this event, in another village near my g/f's home, someone found the bodies of two children, missing their eyes, heart and kidneys. Some money was found close to the bodies which was presumed to be to cover the cost of the funerals. The missing parts were believed to have been sold for transplants.

Another case: an old lady and her grand-daughter (about 9 years old) were looking after a cow in the fields. They took it there to be fed - to eat the grass. A van stopped and two men got out and tried to take the girl. The grandmother tried to stop them but she fell onto a big knife and was killed. The men left 5,000 baht compensation, but took the girl who has not been seen since.

And now, a few weeks ago in my g/f's own village, a white van was seen with 4 men in it. They tried to get a boy to come to the van, but he ran off and told his mother who called the police. About 10 policemen turned up in several pick-ups and went off looking for the van. The police chased the van but didn't manage to stop it, but apparently did get its number. Nothing more has been reported about this.

Some people in these villages believe that the police are part of this kidnapping/trafficking/body-parts ring, which is why it is still happening and nobody has been caught.

That's the story as reported to me. Make of it what you will!

**stroller** · 18-04-2007, 11:18 PM

Originally Posted by dirtydog

In the end, the department helped them out and got the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to give them assistance money Bt1,900 each.

In other words, it's perfectly alright to kidnap and sell people, but the 'department' may help the victims with some pocket money whilr they are in bond labour???
Outrageous, I don't have words for this, nor for what RDN reports.

**Spin** · 18-04-2007, 11:24 PM

^ Stories like this appear with alarming regularity around Isaan.

Lies / truth / folklore / gossip......its anybodies guess what is really happenening out there

**dirtydog** · 19-04-2007, 12:54 AM

Parents warned to be wary of kidnappers

Parents nation-wide should be on the alert for kidnapping gangs, which often operate during the school break, Labour Protection and Welfare Department chief Padungsak Thephasdin na Ayutthaya said yesterday.

Some 775 children under 18 had gone missing over the past three years and most disappeared during the summer break, according to a Royal Thai Police report, he said.

Eighty-two children were reported missing last year and 14 more "had disappeared" from October up to March this year, he said.

Padungsak urged parents to watch out for criminals among crowds and to tell police about any suspicious incidents. He also asked people who witness child labour abuses to call the Labour Ministry on 1506.

Padungsak cited a case of two young teenagers boys from Buri Ram on their way to look for construction jobs in Bangkok. The pair were drugged in the toilet at Mor Chit bus station. They later regained consciousness on an offshore fishing boat and were told they had been sold for Bt10,000 each and had to work without payment for seven months, he said.

After, the department helped by getting the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to give them some money - Bt1,900 each. The pair returned to Buri Ram, where the labour office gave them vocational training.

Padungsak also pointed out that the Labour Protection Act 1998 stipulates that employers cannot use workers under 15, while the employment of youths under 18 must be reported to labour officials within 15 days of hiring.

Employers must also provide at least an hour's break after four consecutive hours of work to employees under 18. And they can only work between 10pm to 6am if their employers obtain legal permission. They were not allowed to work overtime, or work in dangerous conditions or at inappropriate venues, he said.
People who violate the law would face up to one year in jail or/and a fine up to Bt200,000.

**keda** · 19-04-2007, 09:35 AM

...or 1,000 baht tmoney.

**sabang** · 19-04-2007, 09:55 AM

Amazing stuff.
To think there are people that will do this sort of stuff for money.

I can like individuals, but I find it very hard to like the human race.

**dirtydog** · 21-04-2007, 12:13 PM

Group warns abduction of kids rampant
Gangs in vans preying on 3-14 year olds

SAI-ARUN PINADUANG & ANJIRA ASSAVANONDA

The abduction of children by gangs operating in vans is now rampant in Phayao province, according to the network against trafficking of women and children in the northern province. Serm Promsarn, a member of the child protection network and the Ban Lao Tambon Administration Organisation in Mae Jai district, said the abduction gang was hard to catch because they constantly changed their vehicles. The abductors also know the geography and their way around the villages, he said.
Their targets were children aged between three and 14. Victims older than 10 were usually girls, he said.
After being kidnapped, the children would then be sold to fishing trawler operators to work as child labourers, he said. The trafficking gang were also known to cut off children's limbs and force them to beg on the streets, he claimed.
Mr Serm said abductions often occurred in crowded areas where children easily get lost from their parents.
Napapan Wongpan, another member of the anti-trafficking network, said the abductors from outside of Phayao came to villages in Mae Jai district during the Songkran festival and evaded suspicion by mingling with revellers returning home for the holidays.
Recently, a five-year-old girl was grabbed by the gang while riding a bicycle near a market in tambon Ban Lao, she said. However, the girl was lucky as she was rescued by passers-by.
Despite having a vehicle checkpoint manned by volunteers in tambon Ban Lao, it was not always easy to keep an eye out for strangers, she said.
Charoensri Chaikhat, Phayao social development officer, said the province was very concerned about the trafficking rings and authorities had been ordered to devise methods to deter them.
Deputy Social Development and Human Security Minister Poldej Pinprateep said the ministry is keeping a close watch on the problem of missing children.
He said he had heard a few reports about the abduction gangs operating in vans, but more information was needed to verify the scale of the problem.
As far as he had heard from the Mirror Art Group's centre working on missing persons, there were 400-500 children aged under 15 that had gone missing over the past five years. Among them, only 19 cases were abductions, he said.
The rest, he said, had disappeared because of other causes, such as escaping from broken families, or being lured by people they knew on the internet.
However, the report of the abduction gangs in vans was a reminder that the problem was real, even though it was on a small scale.
The ministry will inform its provincial offices nationwide to beware of the issue, he said. Dr Poldej said the problem of child abduction was one of his concerns and that he would visit three families in Samut Sakhon province today whose children had been kidnapped to gather information in order to find effective measures to tackle the problem.

Bangkok Post

**RDN** · 22-04-2007, 12:21 AM

Originally Posted by dirtydog

...Phayao social development officer, said the province was very concerned about the trafficking rings and authorities had been ordered to devise methods to deter them. ...

"to deter them" ??

I hope that's a translation error.

**DrB0b** · 22-04-2007, 01:05 AM

I've heard dozens of stories about children being kidnapped for their organs or having their limbs amputated to make them more appealing as beggars in Thailand. I've also heard the same stories in India, South America and the Phillipines. The incidents have always been in the next village or the next province and happened to the children of a neighbours cousins friends sister in law.

Have any of these incidents ever been verified? I know that there is a market in children and that there are organized gangs in SE Asia who do kidnap kids for various repulsive purposes, I have no doubts about that although I think the figures are often exaggerated by NGO's in the hope of getting more aid money, but I haven't been able to find a single verified instance of people amputating childrens limbs to make them more profitable.

Every Thai I know believes absolutely that this happens but they also believe their lives are in constant danger from ghosts and that despite the fact that people are being slaughtered in their dozens by thieves desperate to get their hands on Jatukarn Ramathep amulets that these amulets are still lucky. I also haven't seen any amputee child beggars in Thailand, some adults but no children and the adults I talked to told me they lost their limbs in Cambodia. One did tell me he told people that his arms had been cut off by gangsters when he was a child as that got him more money.

I found one news article on the BBC about three Doctors in India who had been filmed offering to amputate the limbs of adult beggars for about 200 pounds a time but I couldn't find any follow-ups. BBC NEWS | South Asia | Inquiry into 'beggar amputations'

So is this (the mutilation aspect) a real thing or just another urban myth? The very idea that this might happen (and I have no illusions about the depths some people will plumb for money) chills me to the marrow. I live in Thailand and have a 9 month old son and even just thinking that he has to live in a world or a country where there is even a possibility of such a thing happening to him or to any child leaves me feeling weak, nauseous, and furious.

**obsidian** · 21-04-2007, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by Helicopter

Lies / truth / folklore / gossip......its anybodies guess what is really happenening out there

amen...

**dirtydog** · 21-04-2007, 08:53 PM

The sooner report on child missing, the better

Prompted by a recent case, the Social Development and Human Security Ministry called on Saturday for an exception to the law requiring parents to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing child to police.

Deputy Minister Poldet Pinprateep said if parents immediately alerted authorities when they found that their children had disappeared, there was a greater chance of success in searching for them and bringing them back safely.

He said he was discussing this matter with police and they agreed to allow this early reporting of missing persons in the case of children.

The Nation.

**dirtydog** · 22-04-2007, 04:27 AM

New task force urged to trace missing kids

Authorities need to act quicker against traffickers, says minister

By Penchan Charoensuthipan

A special task force to trace missing children by coordinating information from relevant agencies should be set up, Deputy Social Development and Human Security Minister Poldej Pinprateep said yesterday. He said the authorities cannot afford to waste time in their attempts to find missing children, many snatched by human traffickers and forced to work as child labourers, beggars or sex workers.

Ekarak Lumchomkhae, head of the Mirror Foundation's missing persons information centre, said more than 400 cases of missing people have been reported to the centre since 2004.

Missing children reported to the centre have ranged from newborn infants and toddlers to children aged 10-12.

Mr Poldej said a centre should be set up specifically to search for missing children and it must be able to work quickly.

The more time passes, the slimmer the chances are of finding them and reuniting them with their families, he said.

He was speaking during a visit to three families of missing children in Krathum Baen district of Samut Sakhon. He was accompanied by provincial governor Theeraboon Pobukadee and provincial police chief Pol Maj-Gen Sompong Samransuk.

Soraya Dankuekul is the mother of Chaiyapas, or Nong Ten, 12, who has been missing for four months.

She said she has not lost hope of getting her son back and believes he is still safe. He disappeared on Dec 16.

However, the ordeal has traumatised Nong Ten's father, Charoen.

To him, the four months have been an eternity. He said he has gone through many crises in his life, but nothing like this.

He also voiced frustration about the slow response by police who refused to register his complaint hours after the boy went missing. Police said the family had to wait at least 24 hours before they could lodge a missing person's complaint.

Rapid changes in society has contributed to the rising number of children disappearing, Mr Ekarak said.

As neighbourhood ties are weakened, fewer people in the same community know or care about each other, he said.

Mr Poldej said his ministry was also floating the idea of establishing a neighbourhood watch network in communities to help look out for strangers and suspicious activities.
He said a website and a 1300 hotline would also serve as a centre to receive complaints and useful clues about any missing children.

Bangkok Post

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