Yesterday, police in southern Ranong province found 24 Rohingyas who claimed they were left to starve on remote mountaintops, after following an employment broker who promised to find them jobs in Malaysia.
Police received reports from villagers that three Rohingyas had wandered down from a mountain in Kraburi district to plead for assistance from locals. The individuals were seeking food and water, and informed residents that there were still many more of their group hiding up in the mountains.
Several members of the Thai military and border police followed the three Rohingyas up the mountain to find that claim to be accurate. Matichon reported that the rest of the Rohingyas, consisting of 20 men and 4 women, were terrified and would not come out of hiding until authorities announced that they were not there to capture, but to help them.
Upon interrogation, police discovered that the group was tricked by an acquaintance in Myanmar who promised them safe passage to Malaysia via a route through Thailand, after which employment would be guaranteed — all for a payment of THB20,000 (about US$600) each.
However, after sneaking away from Myanmar borders on a boat, they were met with a Thai stranger in Ranong province who led them up a mountain to their present location, and then simply left them there.
The group claimed they hadn’t eaten since they illegally crossed the Thai border on June 25, so the local authorities bought them food and water.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Chitipat Yangsuey, an investigator at Ranong Immigration, brought the group of Rohingyas to the provincial immigration office for individual interrogations on the same day. What will happen to them next remains undetermined.
Thai police will request cooperation from Myanmar officials to detain the Burmese broker and his Thai assistant, who have since been identified for further investigation.
This is not the first incidence of fraud of this kind. A nearly identical account was reported in 2015, when a 14-year-old boy was tricked on board a wooden ship with hundreds of other Rohingyas, after being approached by a broker offering better job opportunities in Malaysia.
The teenager later told the Associated Press of the cruelty he faced during that time, including being beaten with a belt when he asked to use a toilet.
That year, an estimated 25,000 Rohingyas fled by boat to Thailand and Malaysia. Some were reportedly caught in a nightmarish human-trafficking scheme, physically and mentally tortured until their families paid a ransom for release.
However, many did not survive after being held in hellish conditions, beaten, or killed.
