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