The army is targeting employers of Myanmar workers on Koh Tao, saying thousands are unregistered and illegal, in the wake of the arrest of three Myanmar workers for the murder of two Britsh tourists.
Koh Tao employers at a previous meeting with local authorities after the murder (photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
About 3,000 foreign workers on Koh Tao seemed to be concealed, Maj Gen Theenachat Jinda-ngoen, commander of the Surat Thani Military Circle, said on Friday.
Military checks revealed that there were actually about 7,000 alien workers on Koh Tao, but local operators had informed authorities they had hired only about 4,000.
About 3,000 were "missing", the provincial army commander said.
While police were looking for the suspects in the murder of the two British tourists, some local people did not cooperate. They had not reported the correct number of their alien workers and had not sent all their employees for examination, Maj Gen Theenachat said.
He had ordered authorities to collect evidence and take action against these employers, because they had failed to cooperate in the investigation of the murder.
"The wrongdoing is clear. The local residents should have cooperated, but they allowed police to waste time in investigating the case," Maj Gen Theenachat said.
"This affected the tourism image of Koh Tao and Surat Thani province. I have ordered that officials check the registration of alien workers by employers of suspects in this case."