Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said power would be cut to the Myanmar border region as soon as possible. (Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)
In short:
Thailand will cut power to border areas with Myanmar in a bid to stop criminal gang "scam centres" targeting foreign nationals.
The move comes after Chinese victims were rescued from human-trafficking online fraud operations last month.
Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced the move would happen as soon as possible.
Thailand will cut the power to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb "scam centres" where human trafficking victims are forced to work in cyber fraud operations.
The Thai Government announced the measure today as a response to concerns about criminal gang activity running industrial-scale compounds concentrated along the Thai-Myanmar border.
It comes a month after Chinese actor Wang Xing was abducted in Thailand and rescued from a cyber fraud centre in Myanmar.
Chinese actor Wang Xing talks with Thai police officers in Mae Sot district, in Thai-Myanmar border, Tak province on January 7, 2025. (AP: The Royal Thai Police)
Thai police said Xing was lured by a promise of an acting opportunity and travelled to Thailand but instead was taken across the border into Myanmar, where authorities believe he was put to work in a call centre scam operation targeting Chinese people.
Chinese model Yang Zeqi and several other victims were also rescued from a human-trafficking ring in Myanmar's lawless borderlands in January after being lured to Thailand with the promise of work.
Impacts on tourism
The cases have sparked fears about travel to Thailand among many Chinese nationals, who topped the list of visitors to the country last year.
A concert by Hong Kong pop star Eason Chan in Bangkok in February was cancelled due to safety concerns for Chinese citizens.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the National Security Council was meeting to address the issue and the electricity would be shut off as soon as possible.
"What happened has had a huge impact on many Thai people and the image of the country," she said.
Japanese tourists (in the center) visit Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn on the eve of Lunar New Year, as the high-profile alleged kidnapping of a Chinese actor and similar crimes stoked worries over tourism and security in Bangkok, Thailand January 28, 2025. (Reuters: Chalinee Thirasupa)
The security council's chief on Monday said evidence showed transnational crime syndicates operating in Myanmar's Tachileik, Myawaddy, and Payathonzu – outlining areas that the power supply cuts may target.
Thai aviation chiefs say they expect arrivals from China over the January 24 to February 2 period to be down on 2024, despite higher traveller numbers overall.
After the kidnapping reports, public broadcaster Thai PBS last week reported around 10,000 Chinese tourists had cancelled flights, citing Airports of Thailand (AOT), which runs the kingdom's main international terminals.
The government took the unusual step last week of publishing an AI-generated video of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra insisting – in Mandarin, a language she does not speak – the kingdom was safe for Chinese tourists.
-Reuters/AP/AFP/ABC
