54 Myanmar migrants suffocate in container

[buksida]

At least 54 Myanmar migrants suffocated to death in a cold storage container as they were being smuggled into Thailand to look for work, Thai police said Thursday.

The incident was the deadliest in a wave of recent tragedies as people flee economic collapse in the military-ruled state.

A total of 121 people were crammed inside a container just six metres (20 feet) long and 2.2 metres wide, said Colonel Kraithong Chanthongbai, local police commander in the border province of Ranong where the bodies were found late Wednesday.

Twenty one people were hospitalized suffering dehydration and lack of oxygen, he said, adding they appeared to be recovering after receiving intravenous fluids.

The airtight container was normally used to carry frozen seafood.

Kraithong said the migrants were supposed to pay a Thai smuggling ring some 5,000 baht (157 dollars) each to take them from the border to the nearby resort isle of Phuket.

Once there, they hoped to find work as day labourers, he said.

When the driver of the truck carrying the container realised some of the migrants had died, he parked by the side of the road, opened the door to the storage box and fled, Kraithong said.

"The people said they tried to bang on the walls of the container to tell the driver they were dying, but he told them to shut up as police would hear them when they crossed through checkpoints inside Thailand," he told AFP.

The bodies of the dead had been buried in temporary graves in a Phuket cemetery until they could be collected by relatives, he said.

The 46 people who survived without injury have been arrested, he said.

Colonel Narin Bussayawit, the deputy provincial police commander, said the container did have a ventilation system but it had broken down.

"We don't know yet whether the ventilation system was out of order when they entered the container or if it broke along the way. We are still investigating," he said.

About 540,000 migrant workers are registered to work in Thailand, most of them from Myanmar, according to the labour ministry, but as many as one million undocumented workers are believed to be in the kingdom.

Myanmar is one of the world's poorest countries, its economy battered by decades of mismanagement under military rule and further hampered by Western sanctions imposed over its human rights record.

The nation's economic plight sparked protests last August which, when joined by Buddhist monks in September, snowballed into the biggest anti-government demonstrations in nearly 20 years.

The military responded by opening fire on the crowds, killing at least 31 people, according to the United Nations.

Six months later, the plight of Myanmar's people remains desperate.

Soaring exports of natural gas, reportedly worth a total of 2.7 billion dollars last year, appear to have little impact on the lives of ordinary people who struggle to eek out a living.

As a result, many choose to flee across the long land border in to Thailand, or to escape by sea to Singapore, Malaysia or elsewhere in Asia -- all treacherous journeys.

The land border with Thailand is littered with landmines and riven by civil war while the long sea trip is made on flimsy boats without adequate supplies.

Those who do make it into Thailand often must deal with criminal traffickers who transport them to Bangkok or other major economic centres such as Phuket in dangerous and exploitative conditions.

Seven migrants and their Thai driver were killed in November during a high-speed chase to escape police.

Seven others were found dead in January, apparently having drowned in a Thai lake while making the illegal crossing.

In December, at least 22 died while making the sea journey when their boat collapsed.

Source: AFP

[Jockey]

What a horrible way to die. My heart goes out to these poor victimised people.

Burma - the forgotten country. what happened to all these monks rounded up, beaten up and arrested on the streets?

China protects the Burmese evil dictators. Why only Tibet protesters in the news leading up to the Olympics? It seems no-one really cares about Burma.

[buksida]

And Thailand's new leader wants to do business with the junta.

I think this country is partly responsible for the plight of the Burmese people also, they're not exactly assisting in a humanitarian way ... arresting the survivors ... nice touch Thai immigration.

[huahinsimon]

And Thailand's new leader wants to do business with the junta.

I think this country is partly responsible for the plight of the Burmese people also, they're not exactly assisting in a humanitarian way ... arresting the survivors ... nice touch Thai immigration.

I really do hate to be cynical, but isnt there a thread OPed by Edwina who expresses dismay and worse at what goes on here. And people tell her to chill out, this is Thailand, we cant change it, we dont want to change it. It's their country and their culture.

So TIT, arrest the survivors. accept it, mei pen rai. and please dont complain about driving against traffic, corruption or any thing else.

TIT: Love it or leave it.

HHS

[buksida]

I take it you didn't read my response to her then, not one "chill out", "relax" or "we can't change it" in there.

I think most people on the board know my stance on the people that run this country by now ... and yes I know I can't bloody change it, its been going on for the last 100 years.

[redzonerocker]

it's a sad story for sure.
just highlights the desperation of some people to pursue a better life.
it is also a type of situation that is increasing worldwide.
the most sickening thought of this type of tragedy is that some trafficking gang have most likely profited from it

[kendo]

Very sad, human traffic is just another comodity for gangs it even is happening in the U.K

[Sabai Jai]

The treatment the poor Burmese people have been receiving for so long now is really appalling.

Beautiful people - beautiful country- awful dictatorship.

With potential leaders of the quality of Ang San Suu Kii awaiting their rightfull postions this could be a great country if the movement that started last year could have been maintained

The Chinese have a truly terrible record in Tibet, Burma and Darfur and this year is probaly the best chance these oppressed people will have to bring international attention to their cause.

It is suprising that Burma is not receiving more support internationally at the moment- shame on Burma's neigbours and members of UN security council.

SJ

[lomuamart]

A quick update to this terrible incident from today's BKK Post:

Human smugglers fingered

Post Reporters

The Je Ngor (elder sister Ngor) gang is one of the five most influential groups bringing illegal Burmese job seekers into Thailand, according to reliable sources in Ranong.

NOTE: Please read our editorial today on human trafficking. Click here to open the leader in a separate window.

The Je Ngor gang is thought to have smuggled the 54 Burmese into the country who died of suffocation in the back of a sealed cold-store truck in Ranong last week.

These gangs are well-entrenched networks of Thai and Burmese job brokers who use bribes to avoid arrest on both sides of the border.

The Je Ngor gang mainly supplies cheap labour from Mawlamyine (Moulmein) in southern Burma to the coastal province of Ranong, the sources said.

Currently, there are at least five such groups of people in Ranong, a coastal province bordering Burma, bringing in illegal Burmese workers, the sources said.

The Je Ngor gang had probably brokered the arrival of the 121-strong group of Burmese, including the 54 who died, who entered through Ranong and were packed into the cold-storage 10-wheel truck on Wednesday night for secret transport to Phuket. These job seekers picked up in Burma were taken by gang members to Koh Song islet in Ranong by boat last week.

They were told to wait for a truck at a fish market, which picked them up about 8pm on Wednesday.

"We were sandwiched in the truck, unable to move. There were far too many people crammed inside," recalled Ko Hla, 32-year-old survivor.

Soon after the truck left the market, people began gasping for air and then rapidly began suffocating because the ventilation system was not functioning.

Driver Suchon Bunplong eventually stopped the vehicle, but fled when he saw the dead bodies, Ko Hla said.

Police are still searching for him.

Ko Hla, who came from Tavoy, on the Burmese southern coast, with his 19-year-old girlfriend, said the tragedy had not discouraged him from working here.

Life is too hard in Burma, he said.

He spent a lot of money on brokers in Burma and Thailand.

He and the other illegal migrants gathered in Moulmein where they were contacted by Burmese brokers, who passed themselves off as bus drivers or taxi motorcyclists.

The brokers hide them in large cargo boats, which travel to Ranong at night, the source said.

Ko Hla said he paid 12,000 baht to the broker. This was just enough to take him to a job in one of the southern provinces like Prachuap Khiri Khan or Phuket. To work in Bangkok, illegal immigrants need to pay up to 15,000 baht.

The source said when the trucks are stopped for a check at roadblocks in Ranong no one is taken into custody. "All you have to do is show a 500 baht note and you are allowed to go," the source said.

Police also arrested 51 illegal immigrants travelling in the cold storage compartment of a truck in October last year.

Je Ngor and the other human trafficking gangs are scattered all over Ranong province, the source said.

Whenever any gang members are arrested, they get only light sentences and resume their illegal activities once they are out of jail.

"We could say that most of them are on a blacklist, but no officials stop them operating," the source said.

As an aside, I'll be glad when and if I get my annual visa extension and so won't have to visit Burma again and hand over 10 USD for the stamps.

[Jockey]

More update from Bangkok Post...

RANONG: Driven by fear, the driver of the cold storage delivery truck in which 54 illegal Burmese job seekers suffocated last week surrendered to police yesterday.

Truck driver Suchon Bunplong, 38, said he feared the human trafficking ring behind the racket would try to silence him.

Mr Suchon confessed to being offered 80,000 baht to drive the 121 job seekers from Ranong to Phuket on Wednesday night, police said.

He had asked his family to contact provincial governor Kanchanapa Kiman and police picked him up in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi.

''He confessed and named members of the trafficking network. Arrest warrants will be issued for them,'' Region 8 Police Bureau chief Pol Lt-Gen Thani Tawitsri said.

Provincial police chief Pol Maj-Gen Apirak Hongthong said Mr Suchon was the key to cracking the case.

He said Mr Suchon told investigators truck owner Damrong Phussadee had called on Wednesday and asked him to pick up the Burmese.

Mr Damrong was questioned by police on Thursday.

Mr Suchon said he drove the 10-wheel truck to Choke Charoen fishing pier about 8pm. A man and a woman ushered the 121 Burmese into the back of the truck. His destination was Ban Ao Makam on Sakdidet road in tambon Vichit of Phuket's Muang district.

The woman gave him her mobile phone number and kept calling him along the way, asking if there was enough air in the container for the Burmese. A car also followed him from the pier.

At first there were no problems, he told a press conference. Then it became very dark and after a while he did not answer any more phone calls because the winding road needed all his attention.

He said the Burmese workers in the back of the truck also had a phone and kept dialling and banging on the walls. He finally pulled over and opened the doors.

When he saw many of the Burmese were dead he ran off, away from the next army checkpoint, and hid until dawn. He then hitchhiked to the Kapoe district and caught a bus to Chumphon, getting off in Lang Suan district.

Then he travelled to Nakhon Si Thammarat and Bangkok.

''During the day, I wandered around Sanam Luang and at night I returned to a hotel. I followed the news of the Burmese tragedy.

''I felt guilty and feared being silenced so I asked my elder sister to contact the governor so I could surrender,'' he said.

Police yesterday arrested the owner of Choke Charoen fishing pier, Jirawat Sophapanworagul, Pol Lt-Gen Thani said adding the court would be asked to deny him bail.

Mr Jirawat denied any involvement, but police had enough evidence, he said. Mr Jirawat's wife had been charged with transnational human trafficking a decade ago, he added.

[Nereus]

http://www.bangkokpost.net/topstories/t ... ?id=127231

No human trafficking here:

By Anchalee Kongrut and Wimol Nukaew
Authorities say that under Thai law human trafficking required an act of exploitation, which was absent from the smuggling of people seeking proper work.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The death-truck tragedy involving 120 illegal Burmese job seekers, 54 of whom suffocated to death, is likely to be treated as a smuggling case and not human trafficking.
An initial investigation had determined the evidence did not support a human-trafficking case, immigration bureau chief Pol Lt-Gen Chatchawal Suksomjit said yesterday.

It was a matter of legal interpretation, he said.

"This initial finding may run counter to general sentiment and reports which labelled this as a case of human trafficking. But there is a difference between human smuggling and trafficking, it's a matter of degree," Pol Lt-Gen Chatchawal said. The offenders in the case would still be brought to justice.

Under Thai law human trafficking required an act of exploitation, which was absent from the smuggling of people seeking proper work.

Human trafficking must involve smuggling of people with the specific objective of employing them in slave-like conditions and jobs, such as forced prostitution. People smuggling was a crime of lesser degree. The penalties were also different.

Police originally said there were 121 migrants on the truck, but now say their original count incorrectly included a Thai man who had fainted at the scene and was hospitalised.

Human rights commissioner Sunee Chaiyarose disagreed with such an interpretation, which she said was based on vague, incomprehensive laws.

Treating the case as human smuggling would enable the authorities to speed up the deportations.
The survivors should be allowed to stay and claim compensation.

Representatives of the Lawyers Council would meet with the survivors, who had been moved from prison to the Ranong immigration office, and see if any would like to file complaints.

Orathai Junsawanarak, manager of the anti-trafficking and child-protection section of World Vision, said the authorities should urgently provide counselling for the Burmese. The survivors, particularly children, badly needed such services after such trauma, she said.

Ms Orathai said World Vision staff in Burma would look after these survivors when they return home and provide shelter and counselling.

Ranong police have begun an intensive hunt for the last suspect in the case, Supat Phothong, 34, believed to be the broker who brought the Burmese job seekers to Thailand.

Six other suspects have surrendered to the authorities.

Mr Supat is believed to be armed and dangerous and in hiding with his relatives in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Pol Maj-Gen Apirak Hongthong, the chief of Ranong provincial police, said.

He had authorised the use of "harsh measures" if the suspect violently resisted arrest.
Assistant national police chief Pol Lt-Gen Chongrak Chuthanon is to travel to Ranong on Friday for a briefing on the progress of the case.

----------------------------------

Some of the posters that think that Thai Law will protect them may be interested in reading this.

[Nereus]

I guess these ones did not check the "law" first:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_new ... ?id=127230

Thai suspects nabbed in UK for human trafficking

(BangkokPost.com) – The London Metropolitan Police or Scotland Yard have arrested 9 people on charges of running a prostitution ring and money laundering.

Of the nine arrested, it has been confirmed that at least 6 are Thai citizens. They have been identified as Pongpoj Pitayatanakul,31, Bordee Pitayatanakul, 32, Panya Peakaew, 25, Monthira Duangthip,35, Jirapha Siwisha,40, and Graipich Vudto, 27.

Authorities working on this case now allegedly have 15 people in custody. They have pressed charges on 10 of these suspects while the remaining five have yet to be interrogated.

It’s believed up to 30 women have been lured into prostitution by the suspects. They have now been sent to a centre providing relief for victims of human trafficking.

[sandman67]

Nereus,

Im missing your point here mate.....

Some of the posters that think that Thai Law will protect them may be interested in reading this

and your subsequent post about the UK.

We have the same dual law in the UK (& EU)- the ones you detailed in your post are guilty of human trafficking - an offense that has a requirement that exploitation is the purpose of the act of smuggling people into the country.

Truck drivers who knowingly or not bring people in from France etc are charged with smuggling offenses, not trafficking.

Human trafficking is a much more serious offense under UK law than smuggling, and quite rightly so.

Id also point out that this...

They have now been sent to a centre providing relief for victims of human trafficking

...is a recent development in the UK...before 2004 the girls would have been arrested and convicted of illegal immigration offenses, slammed up in Holloway for 3 months, then deported....usually before the trial of the swine that shipped them in and exploited them, so there were no direct witnesses. Cue the swine getting off.

I dont often defend the MIBS but here they seem to have done the job right for a change.

Guess the bad boys weren't paying the right bloke off eh?

[dtaai-maai]

Truck drivers who knowingly or not bring people in from France etc are charged with smuggling offenses, not trafficking.

As far as I'm aware they'd always be charged at the very least with 'facilitation of illegal entry,' which is nothing to do with Customs - or am I missing the point?



(Edit)
Yes, I think I probably was, but I also think it's quite right that ringleaders of these gangs who organise the smuggling and the subsequent exploitation of the illegals involved should face a heavier penalty than the truck driver.

[sandman67]

dtaai-maai - agree entirely mate...under EU law "mens rea" principle would also allow a due diligence defense if the trucker could show he was unaware that the victims were in his truck.....

however...this is a bit different to the cases we get mainly in the UK at Dover etc.....(apart from the illegal Chinese immigrant incident which is scarily similar).

..in this case the driver is stuffed on the "innocent victim" count - he knew what he was doing. He was also aware that the unit was sealed, and ignored the victims when they tried to alert him. Finally he ran off to leave them dying.

Ignorance is no excuse for inhumanity, particularly in a country whose religion preaches compassion. I wonder how many amulets he wears, and how many were hanging in his cab.

Id argue that whether he is an uneducated "simple man" or not the bastard left them to die. He did nothing to help the victims once he was aware he had screwed up. He was also aware what he was doing was illegal and had done it before.

All the lot of them should be locked up for life....including the driver.

If it were my call Id lock em in a container and leave em in the sun to cook.