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» 24.06.09 Phuket Immigration crackdown announced |
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24.06.09 Phuket Immigration crackdown announced
Source: Phuketgazette
Phuket Immigration Superintendent Chanatpol Yongbunjerd speaks at this morning's press conference.
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PHUKET
CITY: Phuket Immigration this morning held a press conference to
announce measures aimed at improving compliance with immigration law,
including the requirement that owners of all hotels, guesthouses and
rental homes report foreigners on their premises to immigration within
24 hours of arrival.
Phuket Immigration Superintendent Chanatpol
Yongbunjerd told the press that the crackdown follows the recent arrest
of three ethnic Rohingyas on charges of involvement in an international
human smuggling ring.
The three men, two of whom were arrested
in Songkhla’s Haad Yai district, are also suspected of having links to
terrorist groups including Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
The crackdown
is also part of stepped-up security in the run-up to the 42nd Asean
Foreign Ministers Meeting, scheduled to take place at Laguna Phuket
from July 16 to 23, Col Chanatpol said.
Expected to attend that
event are Foreign Ministers from all 10 Asean states as well as their
counterparts from dialogue partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the
European Union, the United States, China, India, South Korea and Russia.
US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to attend the meeting,
during which the ministers are expected to try and hammer out a unified
approach to the nuclear ambitions of pariah state North Korea – which
successfully carried out a nuclear test in May.
Col Chanatpol
used the press conference to ask for co-operation from hotel owners as
well as employers of low-wage foreign laborers, who must report the
details of all foreigners under their employ as soon as possible – or
face fines.
Other security measures will include: more thorough
screening of foreigners entering and leaving the country, especially
those on watch lists or exhibiting suspicious behavior; increased
co-operation with local police departments in monitoring residences
with foreigners in domicile, especially those with suspicious behavior;
increased security in popular tourism and nightlife entertainment
areas; and better co-ordination and information exchange among police
and related agencies.
Col Chanatpol also asked the public to report any problems or useful information to Phuket Immigration on 076-212108.
Phuket
Immigration Inspector for Investigation Suparerk Pankosol, who also
attended the meeting, told the press that homeowners who fail to inform
Immigration of foreigners staying in their homes – either as guests or
under rental agreements – face fines not exceeding 2,000 baht.
Owners
of hotels, guesthouses and other commercial accommodation
establishments who fail to report guests are subject to fines ranging
from 2,000 baht to 10,000 baht, he said.
Phuket Immigration's
webmaster, Bunta Lapet, told the media that such registration could be
conducted quickly and easily on line by using the site’s “Phuket
Immigration Enterprise” webpage.
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