When Aor visited the Din Daeng district office sometime in June, a registration officer questioned her about the number of Myanmar children listed on her family's household registration.
AniraS, her sister, had been registered at the address and where her younger sister, AniraS, lived. The answer shocked her.
AniraS had received 5,000 baht in cash after messaging her sister, Charms, who works at the district office, to ask for a loan. Charms had asked for copies of AniraS's household registration and ID card.
AniraS believed the documents were needed to apply for a newborn child subsidy. She had never visited the district office and insisted she had not agreed to have foreign children registered at her address.
The flat, measuring about 30-40 square metres, was among 47 flats found with at least 164 foreign children registered at their address.
A subsequent police investigation found at least 1,648 foreign children aged five to 15 had been registered in household registrations across the Din Daeng complex, which contains 5,627 rooms.
Complaint Uncovers Network
After discovering the 64 names, Aor first reported the matter to local police, but was told "You've already taken their money, why are you filing a report to arrest them?"
Instead, she was told that once a foreigner's name had been entered into a household registration document, further registrations could be made.
Aor's concerns deepened when she found a neighbour and a broker involved in arranging documents, waiting for her at the flat.
Aor knew she was reaching the network, suggesting information about suspected corruption involving the district office and the police had been received by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Public Sector Corruption Prevention Commission.
On Wednesday, the ACC said the agency had received information about suspected corruption involving the Ministry of Interior (BMA), Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Royal Thai Police, and the Criminal Enforcement Task Force in a operation launched on Tuesday, including three Din Daeng flats, which led to searches at seven locations.
Mr. Bumbhimsak, secretary-general of the ACC, said the evidence obtained could lead to additional suspects. Mr. Bumbhimsak said the district required verification in its operations.
System Flags Failures
But the alert has little effect if staff have the power to approve household registration approvals, despite the data registration system generating a warning when more than 16 people were registered at a single address.
Police and the National Identity Enforcement Task Force found that 64 Myanmar children had been registered at AniraS's flat within two days, on June 6 and 7.
Charms's flat had 41 names on its household registration, bringing the total to 64 across the three rooms, and Noi's registration had 34.
A wider BMA review on Friday found 16,634 foreign nationals holding pink identification cards, spread across nine districts, Thirtieth of those homes, including properties owned by coworkers, and the workers' dependents, appeared to have normal occupancy. The General Advisor to the Bangkok governor, Pol. Gen. Asada Kusthichamnag, said.
The BMA will run detailed checks on the 13 addresses, examining the actual occupancy, workers' dormitories, and rental properties, including those reported as having normal occupancy.
Three Din Daeng district office employees, including Charms, were arrested during the raid, implicating the alleged forged signatures. They were used to accept documents prepared in advance and approve applications, despite unusually high numbers. The Interior Ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Wirachai Naewboonnien, said.
On Friday, the BMA identified a fourth Din Daeng district office employee, the Bangkok Governor Suttiphan Krachad, ordered all four staff members to be temporarily placed on leave. The police arrested seven suspects during the raid, implicating three household owners and Noi's niece, who allegedly signed as a witness for the Myanmar children's registration.
Brokers Open Gate
The network was centered on household registration, which could then be used to obtain pink identification cards for people without Thai nationality.
Noi told officers that she had been describing a process where foreign workers were arranged so that they could obtain pink cards and work legally. She collected 500 baht for arranging the registration and another 300 baht for processing the identification card, while she received about 5,000 baht per person for the registration and processing of the identification card.
Deputy Interior Minister Wirachai Naewboonnien described brokers as key players in the process.
"The broker tells them to come and says, 'You pay this amount, and I will arrange it,'" he said.
Mr Naewboonnien said a pink card is an identification card issued to non-Thai nationals whose names are recorded in Thailand's civil registration system. Depending on their legal status, the cardholders can use the card for certain transactions and access to education and employment.
It can also open a pathway towards applying for Thai citizenship, he said.
Broker fees could range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of baht, depending on the arrangement, he said.
Sometimes the foreign workers themselves do not know much about what is happening. The broker tells them to come and says, 'You pay this amount, and I will arrange it,' he said.
Probe Goes Nationwide
Mr Naewboonnien said the Interior Ministry will also coordinate with the Labour Ministry, because foreign worker registration is linked to the civil registration process. The ministry said that it would consider whether public servants and brokers involved in the process constituted predictable inefficiency in the current legal system.
Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) secretary-general Komasit Boonsongwong said it would pursue civil measures against property and could trace assets if the legal threshold is met.
"AMLO can trace assets and pursue civil measures against property if the legal threshold is met," he said.
What began with 64 children registered at one small flat has become a wider test of civil registration safeguards. The unanswered question is whether the Din Daeng flat was an isolated failure or evidence of a system open to abuse.
