Twenty eight migrant workers lied to by work permit agent

February 26, 2009

WCRP : Twenty eight Burmese illegal migrant workers in Mahachai, including twelve women and five children, were lied to by a work permit agent, 22 year old Min Than Htike from Warkyi village, Pound Township, Mon State to whom they paid 6800 Baht each for work permit cards which they did not receive.

According to one victim, 30 year old Ma San Aye, “there are now fewer jobs and if we have work permit cards we could earn more money than without one. So we borrowed the money to pay for them. If possible we would like to get our money back but we are afraid to tell the Thai authorities because we are illegal workers.”

She explained that, “the agent Min Than Htike came to talk to workers in the shrimp and tinned fish industries and said that if we wanted a work permit card we had to pay him 6800 Baht each. He said that he had contact with the Thai police and we didn’t have to worry. He said he could get us work permit cards which had belonged to people who had been working in Thailand but had gone back to Burma and he could change the names on the cards.”

“We believed what the agent, Min Than Htike said and agreed to pay the money to get the cards. The agent let his friend, Min Out Chan collect the money. On February 10th Min Than Htike came and picked up nine workers for blood testing at the hospital. But, when they were on the way there, they saw the police and he left the workers and ran away. The nine workers were arrested by the police and they had to phone their boss urgently to get them back. Subsequently their boss had to pay 40,000 Baht to get them back.”

Min Than Htake is now in hiding somewhere in Thailand and nobody can contact him while his accomplice, 26 year old Min Out Chan from Taranar, Kyikemayaw Township, Mon State is already back in his village.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News