KOH PHANGAN – Tourism police and local officials raided on Wednesday an unlicensed nursery on Ko Phangan in Surat Thani province. This is the third such raid in recent months, following similar actions against nurseries run by Americans and Israelis.
The day care center was located in Moo 4, Ko Pha Ngan subdistrict. The officers observed several foreigners dropping off children at the house. They then raided the house and arrested Ms. Anastasia, a 26-year-old Russian national, and Ms. Moe, an 18-year-old Myanmar national, who were acting as caregivers.
Inside the house, officers found 10-15 foreign children aged 1 to 3 years old. The premises also had a playground, classroom, teaching materials, tables, chairs, and food for the children.
Ms. Anastasia said she was on a tourist visa but had been working at the nursery for three months without a work permit. She was hired by Ms. Iryna, a Belarusian national who owns the nursery.
Police charged Ms. Anastasia with working as a foreigner without a work permit. Ms. Iryna is still at large and is charged with hiring a foreigner without a work permit and operating an unlicensed nursery.
Ms. Moe said she had also been hired as a housekeeper. She had worked for over a year and was paid 500 baht a day. She was charged with failing to notify the Immigration Department of her employer, place of employment and type of work within 15 days of starting work.
On the same day, May 15, police also raided Back & Forth Wake Park, a nearby wakeboarding business that had been operating since December 2023. They arrested Mr. Vladimir, a Russian national who identified himself as the owner.
Mr. Vladimir said he was traveling on a tourist visa and did not have a work permit. He said he had hired Mr. Vladyslav, a Ukrainian national, and Mr. Artiom Ohrimic, a Moldovan national, to build a four-sided metal structure that would serve as a toilet for the wakeboard park. He had agreed to pay them once the construction was completed.
He was charged with working as a foreigner without a work permit and hiring a foreigner without a work permit. The two other foreigners found in the store were also charged with working as foreigners without a work permit.
All five suspects were taken to the Ko Pha Ngan Police Station for further legal action.
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