Police yesterday arrested four South Korean nationals for working illegally at a renowned hair salon in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok.
Officers from the Immigration Bureau acted on a tip-off and raided the salon, located on the second floor of a building in the Sukhumvit neighbourhood, at around 3.30pm, yesterday, January 15.
Upon arrival, officers found both Thai and foreign customers receiving services, while others were waiting in the queue.
While some of the hairdressers were Thai nationals, four were identified as South Korean: two men and two women. When asked to produce work permits, the South Korean workers were unable to do so. They were identified as:
- A 24 year old South Korean woman named Ji Hye
- A 25 year old South Korean man named Lee
- A 25 year old South Korean woman named Ji Hyun
- A 30 year old South Korean man named Kim
According to immigration officers, all four South Koreans entered Thailand on tourist visas, which allowed them to stay in the country for 90 days but prohibited them from working.
In addition to working illegally, the suspects were also found to violate another law: working in a prohibited occupation. Hairdressing is one of the professions reserved exclusively for Thai citizens under Thai law.
Police also encountered a 33 year old Burmese worker at the salon, but this person was found to be working legally with a valid work permit.
The four South Korean nationals were taken to Khlong Ton Police Station and charged with violating Section 7 of the Foreigners’ Working Management Act, which prohibits foreigners from working illegally in restricted occupations. The penalties include a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 baht, deportation, and a two-year ban on applying for a work permit.
The suspects are expected to be deported to South Korea and may face a ban on re-entering Thailand.
In a related case reported in December last year, Pattaya Tourist Police arrested 20 foreign sex workers promoting their services on Pattaya Beach. Additionally, four sex workers from Uganda and Tanzania were arrested on Bangla Road in Phuket the month prior.
Last week, further arrests of illegal foreign workers were made in Pattaya. In this instance, police detained four Russian and Indian nationals for working illegally as tour guides while providing services to foreign tourists near Bali Hai Pier.
The story Illegal cuts: South Koreans snipped up in Bangkok salon raid as seen on Thaiger News.
