Thai women caught in fake marriage registration scam

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Hundreds of false marriages between Thai women and foreign men were registered by a corrupt official in Khon Kaen province between 2011 and 2013, it was revealed yesterday.

Some of these women apparently never knew that someone had "stolen" their name for marriage registration until they wanted to officially register their union with men they planned to start a family with.

A victim said she is living with a foreign husband in Khon Kaen. They decided to register a marriage so the baby would be entitled to rights from a registered marriage. But when they went to the district office, the registration system showed that she was already married to another foreigner, with the marriage registered in Nong Bua Lamphu, where she never goes.

She then went to Non Sang district office and was fortunate to meet with corruption inspectors from the Department of Provincial Administration, who were investigating the office at the time. She told of the her name being recorded as married, before finding out that the registrar there "sold her name" to foreign man to use it to register a marriage.

The official in question registered as many as 611 marriages while serving between 2011 and 2013. He has already been punished for counterfeiting documents, abuse of his work and intentionally registering false data.

Worapan Benjaworakul, the victim's lawyer, said yesterday that most clients of this scam came from India, Malaysia and Nigeria. They used fake marriages with Thai women for immigration purposes, she said.

Full Story: The Nation