Thai immigration: Biometrics still doing a great job catching illegal foreigners

[webfact]

Thai immigration: Biometrics still doing a great job catching illegal foreigners

 

Picture: Immigration Bureau

 

The Thai Immigration bureau published an article proudly showing two vinyl boards announcing the arrests of seven foreigners. 

 

The news hailed the effectiveness of the bureau's "Biometrics" system in trapping illegal foreigners in Thailand. 

 

It featured the IB chief Lt-Gen Sompong Chingduang in a face mask explaining the arrests in March. A brief summary is below:

 

Number 1: A Chinese man was stopped with a fake Singaporean passport on March 4th.

 

Number 2: A Chinese man with a fake Shengen visa was stopped on March 5th.

 

Number 3: On the 12th a Chinese man with fake stamps was stopped.

 

Number 4/5: A Syrian couple were travelling on fake UAE passports on the 12th.

 

Number 6: A Liberian woman was stopped with a fake stamp and booked for being on overstay in Thailand on the 12th of March.

 

Number 7: A man was arrested on the 18th of last month for travelling on a friend's French passport. 

 

Biometrics played its role in all of the busts, said the IB. 

 

Its procurement at a cost well in excess of 2 billion baht has faced criticism in the past, notes Thaivisa, including from now sidelined former immigration chief Surachate "Big Joke" Hakpan. 

 

The new chief has hailed the system as great for stopping illegal foreigners and illegal Thais crossing borders and following through on orders issued from the top by PM Prayut Chan-ocha and DMP Prawit Wongsuwan. 

 

Such observations are invariably contained within IB stories and in other Thai media about the use of the biometrics system.

 

Source: Immigration Bureau

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-04-03

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[baansgr]

Tens of thousands dying worldwide, Thai economy on brink of collapse and the charade of plastic boards still goes on....won't ever forget thos

[rkidlad]

The people who cared about this before certainly don’t now. There’s a pandemic happening. Catch your criminals, do whatever it is you do with them, and continue your work. Now isn’t the time for this childish class-presentation nonsense. 

[bangkokfrog]

Misguided cretins. I read earlier today about a Thai Navy robot with face recognition technology that can also remotely take temperatures. Put one in each BMW "smart car" and, as well as catching overstayers, Covid-19 testing will be enhanced nation-wide. 

Edited April 3, 2020 by bangkokfrog

[BobbyL]

Fantastic. This is exactly the sort of news I am wanting to hear right now. I just wish their press release photo involved armed guards dressed in all black and a man in a hazmat suit like usual. 

[Thian]

Can't they use the biometric system to automatic give visa extensions to all tourists and visa holders?

[colinneil]

Pity the miserable sods have nothing more important to focus their attention on in these troubled times.????

[Puchaiyank]

A country obsessed with foreigners.

 

The leadership appears to thrive on presenting it's catch as a grand prize!  

 

 

[Thailand]

What a sad bunch!

[mike787]

51 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

The people who cared about this before certainly don’t now. There’s a pandemic happening. Catch your criminals, do whatever it is you do with them, and continue your work. Now isn’t the time for this childish class-presentation nonsense. 

they reuse them...these farangs never give up, always on overstay here hoping for black list.

[Destiny1990]

2 overstaying chinese and a Syrian with a fake passport all together a nice catch and that biometrics system costs how many Billions ?

[marko kok prong]

These boardand poster makers are coining it in.

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

A Syrian couple were travelling on fake UAE passports on the 12th.

Wonder why they wanted to leave Syria.   There is nothing to be proud of in chasing down those running for their lives.  Since 2014, Thailand is not a good place if you are fleeing a war zone or a persecuted minority.   Such things make one think the Thai government has no soul.  

[DrTuner]

The problem soon will be, all IOs are down with corona thanks to working in the same petri dish they force foreigners to flock in. 

[Pedrogaz]

What about the BMW Smart Car? I want to know how many more thousands or millions of faring overstayers it has captured after being tipped off by neighbours.

I have hardly seen any PR...err, news about the BMW Smart Car since people began dying in droves supposedly from coronavirus. To me, this seems suspicious. I wonder if toxic fumes from the BMW Smart Car exhaust have anything to do with coronavirus. 

[Destiny1990]

1 hour ago, Pedrogaz said:

What about the BMW Smart Car? I want to know how many more thousands or millions of faring overstayers it has captured after being tipped off by neighbours.

I have hardly seen any PR...err, news about the BMW Smart Car since people began dying in droves supposedly from coronavirus. To me, this seems suspicious. I wonder if toxic fumes from the BMW Smart Car exhaust have anything to do with coronavirus. 

The BMW got some illegal Cambodian Street fruit-sellers arrested.

[cyril sneer]

can't see any problems with this article

 

keep up the good work

[ChipButty]

Getting banged up in the IDC could be a death sentence

[holy cow cm]

Well what are they going to concentrate on next now the airports are shut? Busting down all the expats doors?

[jimmjam]

I hope they have enough staff and bmw smart cars to catch all the foreigners that will be on overstay shortly from their failure to do the right thing during this global <deleted> show.

Bravo

[Dogmatix]

Number 2: A Chinese man with a fake Shengen visa was stopped on March 5th.

 

Interesting.  I didn't realise Chinese needed a Schengen visa to enter Thailand.

[ratcatcher]

2 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Such things make one think the Thai government has no soul.  

Ah, souls! Now I understand.

[BigStar]

The shocking thing here is that turns out the same rules are being applied to Chinese. Messes up the entire narrative.

[Anant72]

Any retiree caught?

[tandor]

5 hours ago, baansgr said:

Tens of thousands dying worldwide, Thai economy on brink of collapse and the charade of plastic boards still goes on....won't ever forget thos

...there certainly is a sinister streak running through this society...my personal observations.

Edited April 3, 2020 by tandor

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Wonder why they wanted to leave Syria.   There is nothing to be proud of in chasing down those running for their lives.  Since 2014, Thailand is not a good place if you are fleeing a war zone or a persecuted minority.   Such things make one think the Thai government has no soul.  

"Make one think the Thai government has no soul."  Only think???????????????????