Indians in soup over fake marriages scam

Indians in soup over fake marriages scam

Police question Indian nationals about a scam using the names of Thai women on forged marriage certificates to extend their stay in the country. Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
Police question Indian nationals about a scam using the names of Thai women on forged marriage certificates to extend their stay in the country. Tawatchai Kemgumnerd

Eight Indian nationals have been detained for suspected involvement in a scam using the names of Thai women in forged marriage licences to stay in the country longer, a senior police officer said yesterday.

Deputy tourist police chief Surachate Hakparn said the arrests were made when police looked into complaints lodged by Thai women in Saraburi's Wang Muang district who found their names on marriage certificates despite never having been married.

The suspects were identified as Prabhakar Singh, Ritesh Kumar, Manjeet Mallah, Suraj Prakash Singh, Raju Sharma, Shailesh Kumar Tripathi, Vijendra Nishad and Bhajan Nishad. The first three are to be charged with overstaying their visas while the five others will have their visas revoked, he said.

The arrests were part of the police's "X-Ray of Outlawed Foreigners" campaign, aimed at cracking down on foreigners who find illicit ways to stay in the country and are sometimes involved in criminal activities.

Pol Maj Gen Surachate said police suspected the eight were part of a criminal gang which makes fake marriage documents, with the help of state officials in charge of the citizenship database, for foreigners who want to extend their stay in the kingdom.

According to the deputy commissioner, the names of about 300 women in the district might have been used in the scam and warrants would be issued for the arrest of other foreigners involved.

According to Pol Maj Gen Surachate, officials have helped 13 Thai women withdraw their names from the marriage registry.

Arthit Boonyasopat, director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration, said two Wang Muang assistant district chiefs and an administrative official were fired in 2015 after they were found to be involved in the scam.

He said the officials allegedly used the names of 2,000 women to produce fake marriage licences at 2,000 baht a name. A fact-finding probe found them in the wrong and the case was sent to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for a criminal investigation.

He said the department launched an investigation and found the names of about 300 women might have been used in the bogus certificates. These women were notified and asked to contact authorities to revoke their married status.

The department has also alerted the police and immigration authorities in the wake of the arrests.

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