(CTN News) – MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn of the Move Forward Party list has expressed severe concerns about a large Chinese-language advertising billboard promoting foreign passports for sale.
He stated that the billboard, positioned near the Din Daeng crossroads, is designed for Chinese nationals, many of whom reside or conduct business in Bangkok’s Din Daeng and Huai Khwang neighborhoods.
The poster lists passports from various countries for sale at varying costs. For example, an Indonesian passport costs 30,000 Chinese yuan, 70,000 yuan for Vanuatu, 150,000 yuan for Cambodia, and 150,000 yuan for a Turkish passport.
It states that the passports are legitimate and that the application procedure takes approximately 30 days, with the assurance of anonymity. Payment, it says, will be made once the passports are ready.
Because the billboard is in Chinese, Wiroj believes neither the government nor the police will be interested. However, he warns that if the information about foreign passports for sale is accurate, Thailand may become a hub for transnational criminal groups seeking foreign passports.
Move Forward Party Warns of Criminal Exploitation of Thailand’s Immigration Laws
The Move Forward MP also claimed that numerous criminal Chinese elements are taking advantage of lenient immigration laws and, with the help of corrupt authorities, are attempting to seek asylum and conduct “grey” businesses in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Pol Maj-Gen Panthana Nutchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, stated that the billboard in question is not illegal per se because the passports for sale are not Thai.
He asserted that “selling of passports is normal in several countries.”
According to the most recent reports, the billboard was dismantled by the firm responsible for its installation.
An official from the local advertising firm told Thai PBS today that a Singaporean company approached them about putting up the billboard, and that the agency did not thoroughly investigate the message’s substance because the Singaporean company appeared genuine.
He went on to say that because the billboard has caused so much controversy, his agency has alerted the Singaporean company that it would be removed.
Source: Thai PBS World
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