Last year, there were 4 Thai fishing detained, not one of whom was a fisherman.
PUBLISHED: 5 Jan 2025 at 04: 54
The 151 Thai prisoners who were detained by Myanmar men in late November, including the four fishermen from Thailand, were not included in the list of 151 of them who were released on Saturday.
According to Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelabutr, Senior Inspector General of the Royal Thai Police and Director of the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT), the 151 Thais were repatriated again to Thailand via the next Thai-Myanmar connection bridge in Chiang Rai on Saturday afternoon.
He said,” We have coordinated with Myanmar authorities for an urgent flight to bring 151 Thai nationals back home to help victims and expand efforts to apprehend online gambling and call center scam gangs.”
On Saturday, Pol Gen Thatchai and another senior police officers traveled to the next Thai-Myanmar connection bridge in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai area to wait for the introduction of the Thai captives.
Following the agreement with Myanmar officials to return the Thai immigrants, Pol Gen Thatchai said, he was assigned by Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch, Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, to handle this situation.
Once they are up in Thailand, the 151 Thais will go through a screening process to find out who were survivors of deception and who were active people of call center con groups or online gambling.
The Thai authorities have records of people who work in these legal sites, some of whom falsely claim to avoid being charged with crimes.
Officials from the PCT and state officials have been given the directive to look into and indict all those responsible, according to Pol Gen Thatchai.
According to reports from Myanmar’s media, the Thai prisoners were one of the 180 international prisoners who were among the 180 who were released as part of the neighboring nation’s annual asylum to mark its independence day.
In total, 5, 864 detainees were released on Saturday, Gen Zaw Min Tun of Myanmar told local press, adding of this variety, 600 were Burmese politicians and 180 were immigrants.
Of the 180 unusual prisoners who were released, the majority were Thai and Indonesian immigrants who had been detained in Tachileik, Myanmar, for being involved in illegal online gaming or elsewhere for illegal hunting in Myanmar’s waters, according to Gen Zaw Min Tun, who were also present.
Prior to their release, these prisoners had been serving their statements, according to Myanmar media.
The public, however, did not mention the four Thai staff members who were detained by Myanmar soldiers in the southern state of Ranong last year on the Thai fishing trawler.
Phumtham Wechayachai, the minister of defense in Thailand, originally stated to the press that the four fishermen would be released by January 4.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who stated he anticipated the release of the four Thais immediately, even followed with his confidence on December 19.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra had previously suggested that the good news about the four Thai nationals ‘ planned release should be less than a year after the New Year.
The four were taken after Myanmar patrol vessels launched a cannon attack on 15 fishing vessels off Ranong on November 30.
One staff member of a fish boat jumped into the water during the attack and died.
On Saturday, Thai government official Jirayu Houngsub declined to comment on the situation, while Mr. Phumtham was unavailable for comment. If the four will still be released in the first New Year, it is unknown.
Saturday’s growth prompted Nipit Intarasombat, a previous Democrat MP from Phatthalung, to repeat his inquiries to the state about the harsh assault on the sailors.
He questioned whether the four sailors had been given legal help from the Thai government and whether it was true that the Thai fishermen had actually invaded the country’s sea area before being taken into custody.