×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

Thai court sentences man to 35 years in Rohingya trafficking case

by Alisa Tang | @alisatang | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Wednesday, 31 August 2016 15:02 GMT

Rohingya migrant Muhammad Solim, 20, sits in a house in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand, in this April 28, 2015 file photo. Muhammad Solim, a Rohingya previously living as a refugee in Bangladesh, said he suffers from the effects of malnutrition after spending nearly three months at sea and 90 days in a jungle camp before he was ransomed for the equivalent of US$2,240, paid in baht and ringgit. REUTERS/Aubrey Belford

Image Caption and Rights Information

The high-profile case led to the discovery of jungle camps, mass graves and an international trafficking ring

By Alisa Tang

BANGKOK, Aug 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 35 years in prison for trafficking ethnic Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, in a high-profile case that led to the discovery of jungle camps, mass graves and an international trafficking ring.

On Jan. 11, 2015, police intercepted five vehicles at a checkpoint in Hua Sai district of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, discovering 98 "very thin and tired men, women and children".

Of the group, 42 were boys and girls younger than 14, and one Rohingya was dead.

Sunand, also known as Ko Mit Saengthong, was arrested in connection with this case. Police evidence against him included data from mobile phones seized from the drivers of the vehicles and bank transactions linking him to a trafficking syndicate.

On Wednesday, a court in southern Nakhon Si Thammarat province found Sunand guilty of human trafficking, enslavement, and harbouring aliens, according to human rights lawyer Janjira Janpaew, who has been monitoring the case.

In addition to the prison sentence, Sunand was fined 660,000 baht ($19,000).

"We didn't think that the court was going to come down this hard, with 35 years. The punishment was more than we had expected," Janjira told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone.

Two other defendants in the case, Suriya Yodrak and Warachai Chadathong, were found guilty of illegally bringing aliens into Thailand and sentenced to a year in prison. The court reduced the sentence of Suriya, who pleaded guilty, to six months.

The Rohingya face persecution and poverty in Myanmar, and after deadly religious violence erupted there in 2012, tens of thousands began fleeing by boat in an effort to get to Malaysia.

Human traffickers, taking advantage of the lucrative smuggling operations, began holding the Rohingya for ransom in crude camps hidden in the jungle along the Thai-Malaysia border.

The discovery of the mass graves spurred a massive crackdown by authorities, effectively halting the smuggling boats.

There are at least eight other court cases related to the Rohingya trafficking rings, according to the Migrant Working Group, which is monitoring the cases.

One of the major ongoing trials includes at least 88 defendants and some 500 witnesses.

(Reporting by Alisa Tang @alisatang, editing by Katie Nguyen. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

-->