Cambodian and Burmese beggars are nothing new in Pattaya, yet one breastfeeding on South Road piqued neighbors enough for them to call the police.
The unnamed woman was sitting in front of a shophouse on South Road Aug. 12 when authorities arrived. She was breastfeeding an infant she said was hers.
The woman could not produce a passport, visa or proof the child actually was hers. Human-trafficking gangs have long paired babies with unrelated women to provoke sympathy and donations.
Indeed, the woman had been given money, food and face masks by passersby. And she said a driver would come to pick her up in the evening.
The beggar claimed she was panhandling because her husband lost his job and she couldn’t afford milk for the child.
Authorities took her into custody to investigate her identity and immigration status.
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