Thai, Chinese police join forces in crackdown on crime to protect tourism industry

Chinese police have begun sharing details of suspects with Thai authorities, as they work to weed out criminals using short-term visas to execute kidnappings for ransom

Thailand has seen a rise in abductions involving Chinese nationals who attack their fellow citizens mainly for money

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A Thai police officer stands guard as tourists visit the Chang Hai Temple in Khok Pho district, Pattani province, on April 15, 2023. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00pm, 11 May 2023

Thai and Chinese police have launched a joint operation to stamp out criminal elements entering the kingdom using short-term visas to execute kidnappings for ransom of their mainland compatriots.

The immigration bureau’s deputy commissioner Panthana Nuchanart said the clampdown would also target Chinese nationals living permanently in the country and indulge in unlawful activities, and those who flee to China after giving police the slip.

The crime-prevention drive comes as Thailand boosts efforts to protect the image of the tourism industry, a key driver of its economy, amid fears a spate of crimes involving Chinese nationals could discourage prospective foreign travellers.

Panthana said Chinese police had begun sharing details of residents with criminal antecedents with Thai law enforcement, including the immigration department, to stop them from reaching the Southeast Asian nation’s shores.

“Chinese police have sent information on many prime suspects who have fled to Thailand so that Thai immigration police will arrest them,” The Bangkok Post quoted him as saying.

Thailand has seen a rise in abductions, sometimes fatal, involving Chinese nationals who attack their fellow citizens mainly for money.

Last year, the ringleader of a Chinese kidnap-for-ransom group that allegedly cut off the finger of a compatriot after holding him captive in Pattaya was arrested following a police raid on his home.

The suspect had demanded more than US$790,000 as payoff to free the victim.