Eleven Russians are among the foreigners arrested at the Erawadee outlet on Chao Fa West Rd just south of Wat Chalong during a raid carried out by Phuket Tourist Police and Phuket Immigration Police last Wednesday Feb 20. (See story here.)
Chalong Police Chief Col Pakkayot Tanongsak told The Phuket News today (Feb 28), “The owner of the store is still under questioning and has not yet been charged. I cannot reveal details around charges until the investigation is complete.”
“We have yet to press charges as we are still compiling evidence. Once our investigation is complete, we will press charges,” Col Pakkayit said.
In June 2017, the Chief of the Phuket Employment Office (PEO) warned foreigners and employers to be aware of a raft of new penalties for breaches of labour law introduced on June 23, 2017 through an “Emergency decree.”
“To all employers and foreign employees, please be careful because some of these new penalties are very harsh,” PEO Chief Pitool Dumsakorn told The Phuket News.
“For example, deceiving that one can bring a foreigner to work without a work permit can incur a fine from B600,000 up to B1 million and from three to 10 years in prison, or both, for each foreign worker deceived,” he said. (See story here.)
Col Pakkayot confirmed that the owner has decided to close the store for now.
Both Col Pakkayot and the inspector handling the case, Capt Somkiet Sarasin, said that they could not remember details of the particular branch in question.