Warning of Thai visa changes

THAILAND has warned it may tighten visa restrictions on Hong Kong citizens because of last week's gangland-style murder of three SAR men.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said yesterday it would hold talks this week on possible changes to the list of countries whose citizens have 30 days' visa-free access to Thailand.

The three men, shot dead on a tollway near Bangkok Airport on October 16, are believed by police to have been members of the 14K triad. The incident has raised fears that cross-border criminals are entering Thailand using the visa-free system.

'Because of the number of crimes caused by foreigners, the latest one being the killing of three Hong Kong men on the Bangkok tollway, we will review the regulations,' a Foreign Ministry statement said.

The dead men, Chen Jian-jun, 40, Chan Kam-yin, 41, and Hong Leung, 40, were shot by gunmen who forced the taxi they were in to pull over as they headed for the airport.

Thai detectives said on Wednesday the men had been identified by an underworld figure arrested during a separate investigation as belonging to a drug smuggling ring.

Bangkok police chief Lieutenant-General Wannarat Kotcharak said overseas gangs involved in the drug trade and human trafficking were using bases in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

Visa-free access for 60 countries' citizens was introduced in 1995 to encourage tourism.

A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Security Bureau said last night all SAR travellers should not be inconvenienced because of an incident involving just three Hong Kong people.

'We express concern over the report and we will seek confirmation,' she said.

The spokeswoman said Thai visitors to the SAR currently enjoyed 30 days' visa-free entry.