Latest news with #MinistryofSocialDevelopmentandHumanSecurity
Bangkok Post
18-07-2025
- Bangkok Post
Two 15-year-old boys rescued from Bangkok sex trafficker
Two 15-year-old boys have been rescued in a police sting operation in Bangkok, where a 27-year-old man was arrested for trafficking minors for sex. The suspect, identified only as Chaiyaporn, was apprehended in a hotel room in Bangkok's Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, the Children and Women Protection Sub-division said on Thursday. According to investigators, Mr Chaiyaporn had been using the Line messaging app under the name "Daimon" to coordinate with clients seeking to exploit minors for sexual purposes. Undercover officers contacted him through the app, posing as clients and requesting two boys. A meeting was arranged at the hotel on Wednesday, where police arrested the suspect and rescued the children. Officers also seized several packets of condoms and cash allegedly used to entice the boys into the illegal activity. Mr Chaiyaporn confessed to having carried out the offence on seven or eight occasions. He told police he received 500 baht per child, while the remaining 1,000 baht went to a man known only by the alias "Mr A", who was arrested later that same day. Both suspects were taken to Nang Loeng Police Station. Mr A was also transferred to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security for further legal action, police said.
Bangkok Post
07-07-2025
- Bangkok Post
Influencer cop under probe for land encroachment
The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security has asked the police to investigate a case of land encroachment involving a high-profile police officer in Ubon Ratchathani. The officer, Pol Snr Sgt Maj Yutthaphon Srisompong — who is widely known online as Johnny Mue Prab (Johnny the Enforcer) — is the owner of a resort located in Lam Dom Noi, which authorities say was built on land that has been earmarked by the ministry as a self-help settlement. The land, located in Sirindhorn district, was meant to be used by poor residents to build homes and make a living through small-scale farming. The petition against Pol Snr Sgt Yutthaphon, who has over 1.6 million followers on Facebook, was filed by Watchara Kosentor from the Department of Social Development and Welfare with the Natural Resource and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED) on Monday. According to the petition, residents first informed the department that Pol Snr Sgt Maj Yutthaphon was building a resort on the edge of the self-help settlement back in 2021. Parts of the resort, they said, encroached on the settlement's forest reserve, affecting about one rai, or about 20% of the reserve's total area. The department then ordered the resort's operator to cease any construction work in 2022, but the order was never acknowledged. According to Mr Watchara, residents who wish to use any part of the 24,675-rai self-help settlement in Lam Dom Noi must acquire permission from the department before proceeding. He said the department has never given Pol Snr Sgt Maj Yutthaphon the permission to use the land, before adding authorities have no idea how he managed to acquire the plots. Pol Snr Sgt Maj Yutthaphon is currently under a separate investigation over his unusual wealth, so his resignation from the police force was not approved.
AsiaOne
04-06-2025
- Health
- AsiaOne
Boy, 4, caught smoking under a Bangkok bridge sent to government-run shelter, Asia News
A 4-year-old boy in Bangkok was caught smoking under a bridge, a Thai Facebook user shared last month. In the video, the child is seen sitting on the stairs with a cigarette resting between his index and ring finger, exhaling smoke and smiling widely. The video has since amassed over eight million views. The boy has since been placed under temporary care of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security due to the unsafe living conditions caused by his parents' homelessness, reported Thai portal The Thaiger. The parents have been homeless for over a year, and the child has been living with them for that duration, Thai media reported. In the video, the man is seen asking the child to throw the cigarette away. "Don't touch it again. Absolutely no more smoking, no. Give it to me. I'm going to tell your father." He takes the cigarette away from the boy, stubbing it out. The man wrote in his Facebook post: "If he were older, I wouldn't have intervened because I've been through that myself when I was young." He shared that his own parents had both smoked, and he did the same. "The boy is the same," the man said in the post. His hashtags shared his concern for the boy.: "This clip is posted to warn your children" and "only four or five years old". The last frame in the video shows the boy's parents resting under a makeshift shelter. They appear to be homeless. According to the Thai portal, a social media influencer, Guntouch Pongpaiboonwet, sent his team to locate the boy's parents. When asked about the video on Facebook, the father said: "My son was probably just copying the teenagers. There were some teenagers loitering around." The parents had said earlier they do not smoke. The boy's mother added that her husband was suffering from health problems, leaving him unable to work. She is the sole breadwinner, often selling fish caught from a nearby river, but her earnings are not enough to make ends meet. The family started living under the bridge because they cannot afford to pay rent and have been relying on charity groups for meals, reports said. The parents added they plan to enroll their son in a school soon. The boy has two siblings who are living with relatives in other parts of Thailand, the parents said. According to Tobacco Control Laws, the legal age to buy and use tobacco products in Thailand is 20 years old. [[nid:718388]]
