Pattaya police are taking decisive action against child exploitation and trafficking, launching comprehensive cleanup operations to combat the alarming increase of children selling candy and begging on the streets.
On June 10, police inspected a rented room in Village 73 of Nongprue Sub-district in the Banglamung area, where they found a woman with three children, two girls, aged 8 and 7, and a 1-year-old boy. The woman, identified as Chan Di, 33, a Cambodian national, said that she had entered the country through a natural border route paying 3,300 baht to gain entry into the Pattaya area.
She said that she sends her children to sell candy to foreign tourists in town while she begged for money, She said that they earned about 800-1000 baht per day, which she uses to buy milk, pediatric medicine and essential supplies, and sending some funds to support her family in Cambodia,
The police also arrested her husband, Pai San, a 31, and father of the three children, as he socialized with friends in the central Pattaya area.
Both Chan Di and Pai San face charges of compelling, threatening, enticing, or allowing children to engage in activities such as begging or wandering the streets for illicit gains. Additionally, they are charged with illegal entry into the country, in violation of the Immigration Act, and illegally soliciting money or property from others.
