A raid at a data centre construction site in Ban Chang, Rayong, ended with 18 Chinese men arrested today, August 19, after officers found them working without permits.
The operation was carried out by Rayong provincial police as part of a continuing crackdown on unlicensed foreign labour.
Officers entered the large data centre project and found a group of Chinese men who appeared to be carrying out construction work.
When police identified themselves and asked to see identity documents and work permits, workers from both China and Myanmar ran off in different directions.
Officers pursued the group and detained 18 Chinese men. Checks found that none had work permits, with police saying all 18 had been working at the site without the required documentation.
Police charged the 18 men with being foreign nationals working without a work permit under Section 8 of the Emergency Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers’ Employment, and sent them to investigators at Ban Chang Police Station for legal proceedings.
Investigators added that the operation was part of a continuing effort to check foreign labour across the province, focusing on construction sites and businesses that employ foreign workers, in order to curb illegal employment.
Elsewhere, Bangkok police arrested five Chinese nationals for working illegally at a construction site in the Huai Khwang area. All five had entered Thailand legally on tourist visas, which prohibit work.
During questioning, police learned that each worker was earning 450 yuan per day, or about 2,200 baht. The amount was significantly higher than Thailand’s minimum wage and the typical pay for legally employed construction workers.
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