Erich Parpart
December 23, 2020
A plastic making company in Samut Sakhon abandoned 14 migrant workers from Myanmar on the outskirts of Bangkok, local officials confirmed on Wednesday.
A police officer at Bangkaew Police Station, who asked for anonymity, confirmed to Thai Enquirer on the phone that they have found 14 migrant workers from Myanmar with luggage in front of Green Lake Village in Bang Phli district on Tuesday night.
Only six of them have passports and work permits. The remaining eight do not.
The workers told the police that they were employees of STI Precision at a plastic making factory in Samut Sakhon.
The company refused to answer questions by phone and hung up after Thai Enquirer requested more information.
The workers said that following the coronavirus outbreak amongst migrant workers at Talad Klang Kung, the company told them that they will be let go and they can no longer stay at the factory because the police are coming for inspection.
The company told the group, which initially consisted of 23 migrant workers, that they will be transported in a van to Rayong.
The workers were told that they will be dropped off in a forest to hide from authorities in Rayong.
The migrants refused and nine of them have left the van before the remaining 14 asked to be dropped off at a factory near the Green Lake Village in Bang Phli.
The 14 migrant workers said that they tried to contact their friends and families but they were unable to get inside the factory as the owner refused to take them in because they came from Samut Sakhon.
The police and health officials were then informed of their location in front of the village.
The authorities later found out that none of the migrant workers have been tested for the coronavirus.
The police officer who talked to Thai Enquirer on Wednesday morning said that all 14 migrant workers are still in their custody but he refused to say where they are exactly.
“They are being quarantine right now…and we are tracking down their employer,” the police officer said.
Plastic company in Samut Sakhon abandons Myanmar workers on outskirts of Bangkok - Thai Enquirer