A Chachoengsao employer looking for cheaper Covid-19 tests was arrested for illegally transporting 17 migrant laborers into Pattaya with half testing positive for the coronavirus.
Deputy District Chief Pornchai Sungeid and Banglamung police apprehended Suntaree Lukchai, 27, July 3 when she returned to the hospital for tests of eight more workers after eight of the first nine tested positive for Covid-19 Thursday.
The Udon Thani woman admitted that she employed the Cambodian and Burmese workers in Chachoengsao and took them for Covid-19 tests, but was put off by the 2,500 charge for each test.
She heard that Banglamung Hospital would test migrants for free if there were employed at construction camps in Chonburi so she lied and told doctors her crew worked at a camp in Sriracha where a coronavirus cluster bloomed.
The infected workers were transferred to a field hospital for treatment while the others were placed in quarantine. Suntaree was charged with illegal transportation of migrant laborers in violation of current health regulations.