(CTN News) – MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn of the Move Forward Party list has voiced grave concerns over a large Chinese-language billboard that purports to sell foreign passports.
He pointed out that the billboard near the junction of Din Daeng and Huai Khwang is targeted toward Chinese people, many of whom are residing or doing business in these parts of Bangkok.
The advertising sells foreign passports at different costs from several different nations. A Turkish passport costs 150,000 yuan, an Indonesian passport costs 30,000 Chinese yuan, a Vanuatu passport costs 70,000 yuan, and a Cambodian passport costs 150,000 Chinese yuan.
It guarantees anonymity and states that the passports are authentic, with an application procedure that takes around 30 days. It states that payment is due when the passports are prepared.
Since the billboard is in Chinese, Wiroj said that neither the police nor the government would be interested. However, he issued a warning, stating that if the information on foreign passports for sale is accurate, Thailand may develop into a center for transnational criminal groups looking to get foreign passports.
Additionally, the Move Forward MP said that several dishonest Chinese individuals are trying to enter Thailand as refugees and run “grey” enterprises by taking advantage of the country’s loose immigration laws and working with dishonest authorities.
The poster in issue is not unlawful in and of itself, according to Pol Maj-Gen Panthana Nutchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, since the passports being sold are not Thai.
“Passport sales are common in several countries,” he said. The organization in charge of constructing the billboard has reportedly taken it down, according to the most recent sources.
A representative from the local advertising firm informed Thai PBS today that they received a call from a Singaporean business asking to set up a billboard. The official further said that the agency did not verify the message’s accuracy since the Singaporean company seemed reliable.
He went on to say that his firm had informed the Singaporean business that the billboard would be taken down since it had sparked controversy.
Source: Thaipbsworld
