Bangkok (VNA) – As many as 1,162 illegal foreignworkers in Thailand have been arrested and 204 law-breaking employers have beenprosecuted following checks on nearly 50,000 foreign workers at establishmentsin the past month.

According to Anurak Rossarat, chief of the Department of Employment under the Thai Labour Ministry, authorities have inspected 2,419 employers covering 46,254foreign workers since August 3.

They arrested and prosecuted 204 employers, 157 of whom were charged for hiringundocumented workers. They also seized 1,162 workers, 612 of whom were chargedfor working without official permits. 

The arrested workers included 668 from Myanmar, 287 fromCambodia, 103 from Laos, 63 from Vietnam and 41 from other countries.

Earlier, Thai Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeoaffirmed that law-breaking foreign workers from all nations would face finesand deportation. 

According new regulationsin Thailand’s Labour Code, illegal foreign workers may be fined up to 3,000 USDand face five years in jail while employers using these workers could be finedup to 24,000 USD.

Statistics from the Labour Ministry show that Thailand is home to more than 3.8million foreign workers, only 615,000 of whom work under official labour cooperationprogrammes.-VNA