Immigration Police Arrest Nine Women for Prostitution in Koh Samui

Surat Thani immigration officers raided a hotel near Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui, arresting nine foreign women engaged in prostitution who said they needed income after their tourist visas expired and they could not find language‑teaching jobs. On October 16, the Surat Thani Immigration Office continued its crackdown on foreigners residing illegally in the kingdom under a national police directive, using residence reports under Section 38 of the 1979 Immigration Act to investigate hotels in the Chaweng area, Bo Phut subdistrict, Koh Samui district, Surat Thani province. Officers found nine foreign female tourists; five had overstayed their permitted stay, with one exceeding the limit by 799 days. The operation follows an urgent Royal Thai Police policy led by Pol Gen Sanphuan Nauwama and overseen by Pol Lt Gen Nophasin Phunsawat of the Immigration Bureau to combat transnational crime and check foreigners whose legal stay has ended or who have broken the law. Pol Col Chutharat Yingyongdangrongkul, commander of Immigration Division 6, assigned the Surat Thani immigration team, led by its investigation unit (Samui), to inspect major tourist spots including Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao to tighten checks and boost tourist safety. Later, police received a tip from a foreigner that a group of foreign women was approaching tourists in Chaweng’s entertainment zone, offering sexual services, forming groups and pressing customers, causing a nuisance and potentially harming Koh Samui’s tourism image. Officers checked the immigration accommodation reporting system under Section 38, which requires hosts, hotel owners or managers to report foreign guests’ stays. They discovered the group of foreign women staying together at a Chaweng hotel and coordinated with relevant parties to inspect the premises. The check found nine foreign women. Five were overstaying: a 32‑year‑old Ugandan (799 days), a 31‑year‑old Tanzanian (487 days), a 33‑year‑old Tanzanian (388 days), a 37‑year‑old Ugandan (224 days), and a 32‑year‑old Ugandan (105 days). In initial questioning, the detainees said they entered Thailand on tourist visas after being invited by fellow foreign women to look for work, intending to teach English because they speak the language well. While unable to find jobs, their tourist visas expired, pushing them to seek work in tourist areas to earn daily expenses until immigration officers detained them. Police charged the five overstayers with remaining in the kingdom after permission ended, contrary to the 1979 Immigration Act. All five confessed. They were handed over to the Bo Phut Police Station in Surat Thani for further legal action.