Russians top list of crimes by foreigners
published : 27 Mar 2023 at 09:21
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Achadthaya Chuenniran
More than 180 foreigners have faced criminal charges in Phuket since the start of the year, with the top three offenders being nationals from Russia, France and the United Kingdom.
Phuket governor Narong Woonciew met consul-generals from 23 countries on Thursday to update them on cases involving foreigners on the island.
The 23 countries were Australia, Russia, China, Austria, the UK, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain and Hungary.
Phuket's free-crime measure has led to the arrest of many foreigners, for cases such as theft by Russians and Mongolians and French motorcycle gangs that have been disturbing local people.
Police also referred to a human trafficking case this month at a bar in Patong that reportedly saw minors procured to provide sexual services.
Phuket's immigration chief said that, as of now, there are about 32,000 foreigners staying on the island, mostly tourists and expats from Russia, followed by those from the UK, France, China and Germany.
Some 14,000 tourists are reportedly arriving at Phuket International Airport every day on average this month.
Since the beginning of the year, police have launched criminal cases against 181 foreigners. Myanmar and Cambodian migrant workers were also found to have committed offences.
Most foreigners were found to have broken the law in the Patong area, with their offences including driving while drunk, overstaying their visas, entering the country illegally and working without a valid visa.
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Vocabulary
- consul: an official chosen by a government to live in a foreign city, in order to take care of people from the official's own country who travel or live there, and to protect the trade interests of that government - กงสุล
- disturb: to interrupt somebody or cause them to stop when they are trying to work, sleep, etc - รบกวน
- expatriate (expat): a person living in a country that is not their own - คนที่อาศัยอยู่ต่างประเทศ (เป็นเวลานาน)
- foreigner: a person from outside the country being talked about -
- human trafficking: the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others (Source: Wikipedia) - การค้ามนุษย์
- immigration: the process in which people enter a country in order to live there permanently - การย้ายถิ่นฐาน
- measure: a firm action taken to solve a problem or stop a dangerous unpleasant situation - มาตราการ
- minor: someone who has not reached the age where they are legally an adult - เยาวชน
- offence: a crime or illegal activity for which there is a punishment - การกระทำความผิด
- on average: calculated by adding several amounts together, finding a total, and dividing the total by the number of amounts - โดยเฉลี่ย
- overstay: stay in a country for longer than you are allowed to stay, not leaving when your visa to stay in the country ends -
- procure: to provide a prostitute for somebody -
- theft (noun): (the act of) dishonestly taking something which belongs to someone else and keeping it - การลักขโมย
- valid: legally accepted - ชอบด้วยกฎหมาย