Thai Police Catch Myanmar Migrants On Way To Malaysia

Almost 80 illegal Myanmar migrants - many of them Muslim Rohingya - were caught by Thai police Monday as they attempted to travel by train to the Malaysian border.



The Bangkok Post reported that provincial police - acting on a tip-off - boarded the train in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat - around 610 km south of Bangkok - where they found the 76 mingled with other passengers. 



On arrest, they told officials that their families had paid human smugglers $3,000 to transport each of them to Malaysia.



The post reported the migrants - who had no travel documents - as saying through an interpreter that traffickers had put them on the train at different stops so they would not draw attention.



It was not known if the traffickers were also arrested.



The Post reported that authorities were compiling their personal details before repatriating them to Myanmar. 



Since tensions boiled over between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine in Western Myanmar Rakhine state in 2012, tens of thousands Rohingya have fled to find work in other Southeast Asian countries, mostly Malaysia where the Rohingya migrant population is sizable. 



Many of them, however, end up in camps in Southern Thailand, where human traffickers detain them until their family pays a ransom. Last January, a group of 98 Rohingya - including dozens of children - were found in pickup trucks in the south.



Last year, Thailand was ranked lowest in the U.S. Trafficking in Persons report, prompting the military government to promise harsher measures against traffickers.



The arrests emphasize the battle the junta still continues to face in combating human trafficking despite a six month government campaign.



On Thursday, the military-appointed parliament overwhelmingly passed amendments to its anti-trafficking laws to offer stronger punishments for human traffickers. 



According to the changes, those convicted of such violations can face life imprisonment if a victim of trafficking dies, and fines of up to $12,300.



In the event of a victim suffering severe injury, prosecutors can seek sentences of 8 to 20 years in prison and fines between $4,900-$12,300.



The government underlined in January that it was "confident" its ranking would improve in this year's Report.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Krung Thep