Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing a foreign beggar being detained in Thailand. Now the thumbnail shows what traditionally is called a 'beg-packer'. I have discussed this in other videos, in prior videos I made on this channel some time ago actually; let me go ahead and jump in on this video. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Foreign Beggar found in Pattaya Temple handed over to Immigration Authorities. Now if you go into that article, and I urge those who are watching this video go ahead and read that article for yourselves - there's more in here than what I'm going to cite - but if you see the photos and things, it looks like this person although a foreigner is from somewhere in the region. I would guess Myanmar, Laos, or Cambodia probably, if I was guessing, maybe further afield but I kind of doubt it. The point of this video, I'm going to get into the citation here, but this person I don't think is somebody who is really being targeted by Immigration Police but it provides some data points to be able to provide some insight to other foreigners here, so that's the reason I'm citing this. 

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That said, let's jump into this. Quoting directly: "A foreign national found begging within the grounds of a popular Pattaya temple was handed over to Immigration Authorities on June 10, after being discovered by city enforcement officers during a routine inspection. Officers from Pattaya City's Municipal Enforcement Department responded after spotting a man sitting inside the grounds of Wat Chaimongkol and appearing to solicit money from members of the public. According to city officials, officers approached the individual and conducted an initial inquiry to determine his identity and circumstances. During the conversation, authorities established that the man was a foreign national."

So again, if you look at the photos and things, this person looks like they are from around the region. So, that's my point here. That said, let's quote further: "Following the preliminary investigation, Pattaya Municipal Officers coordinated with Immigration Police and transferred the individual to Immigration Authorities for further examination and legal processing in accordance with Thai regulations. Officials did not immediately release details regarding the man's nationality, immigration status, or how long he had been in Thailand. The operation forms part of ongoing efforts by Pattaya Authorities to monitor public spaces, tourist areas, and religious sites throughout the city. Local officials regularly conduct inspections aimed at maintaining public order and ensuring compliance with Thai laws and Immigration regulations. Immigration Authorities are expected to determine whether any Immigration or other legal violations have occurred and take appropriate action based on their findings."

So again, I think this person was from somewhere in the region. Wats and temples here in Thailand are viewed as a place to help people. That's the thing you have to take away from this. That said, again the police are doing their job. They see somebody who is begging, they say, "hey who are you? where you from?" and if it turns out they are a foreigner, well that's not appropriate behaviour for a foreign national in Thailand. That is just end of story on that. Again though, I don't think necessarily deportation or harshly punishing this person is the top priority of law enforcement here. They are just trying to basically help this guy probably move along and get to some place where he is in a place where he can live his life, but that said in accordance with Thai law. 

The reason for the video though is again, they went out of their way to ascertain the nationality of somebody who for lack of a better term, if you look at the photos and things, again the faces are blacked out or sort of smudged out, just without even looking at the face, it looks like somebody who could be a Thai. So this is something they took seriously enough that they basically said, "hey who are you, what's your background?" and then they found out it was a foreign national and then dealt with it accordingly. 

My point in making this video is to remind foreign nationals, especially Western foreigners coming to Thailand "beg-packing", so-called "beg-packing" is not looked upon well here in Thailand, let's put it that way. It's something that Thai Authorities do not really like. The rank-and-file Thai people - myself included - hate the notion of foreign nationals coming over here and frankly having the kind of almost temerity, to sit here and beg for money in a country that isn't theirs, amongst a people that oftentimes have a far lower standard of living comparatively to what these folks have back in their home countries. My point with this video is if Thai Police are going out of their way to ascertain the identity of somebody begging in a temple complex that might have otherwise been mistaken for a Thai, don't make the presumption that you are just going to get away with it as a Western foreigner begging on the streets of Thailand. We've seen this in the past. I think I did a video during high season this past year talking about it; it often comes up during high season. Don't engage in it. It's just going to lead you into trouble because again, authorities here in Thailand take this stuff seriously - especially in public areas - and also again, most folks that live here in Thailand, don't like the idea of foreigners coming over here purely to just use this place as a platform to beg for money, it's just not considered an appropriate thing. And we've done the videos in the past; we've seen situations where those folks have been arrested and even deported from the Kingdom of Thailand.