"30% of 7,000 Beggars Are Foreigners"
Begging Yields More Profit Than Fines
The Thai government has strengthened crackdowns on beggars at tourist sites and has urged not only tourists but also locals to "refrain from giving cash to beggars."
According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 12th (local time), Barawut, the Minister of Social Development, Human Security, and Welfare of Thailand, stated the day before, "The crackdown on beggars involves multiple agencies including the Bangkok city government and the police, and will be conducted regularly to arrest habitual beggars."
He added, "Over the past 10 years, more than 7,000 beggars have been arrested, about 30% of whom were foreigners. The foreign offenders caught are deported to their home countries, while locals are sent to state-run shelters to receive vocational training to find jobs." However, Minister Barawut noted that these measures cannot stop habitual criminals who earn more money from begging than from fines.
Under Thai law, begging is illegal. Those caught begging can face up to one month in prison or a fine of up to 10,000 baht (approximately 370,000 KRW). However, in places frequently visited by tourists such as Bangkok, beggars reportedly earn about 100,000 baht (approximately 3.75 million KRW) per month. This means the money earned from begging can be up to 10 times higher than the fines. Minister Barawut also speculated that "criminal organizations place beggars in locations such as high-end shopping centers in Bangkok."
He further pointed out, "As the influx of tourists increases, the problem has worsened with more people begging on the streets using children or pets as props." Earlier, on the 11th, local police arrested a visually impaired Cambodian woman and her daughter who were begging at a market in the central Thai province of Samut Prakan. The police charged them with illegal entry, stating they earned more than 3,000 baht (approximately 110,000 KRW) per day. Additionally, in January, 11 Cambodians, including four children, were arrested in Pattaya.
Notably, in November last year, beggars with severely mutilated body parts were found begging on the streets across Thailand starting from mid-November, prompting local police to launch an investigation. All of them were from China, and it was found that they earned up to 10,000 baht (approximately 370,000 KRW) per day from begging. They reportedly told the police statements such as "Begging is not illegal in China" and "I came today just to beg."
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