Aranyaprathet: Ten Thai workers were arrested while attempting to illegally cross back into Thailand after their Cambodian employers defaulted on promised wages. The workers were apprehended by authorities as they navigated through barbed wire and scaled a wall, trying to return home.

According to Thai News Agency, the Burapha Task Force, in collaboration with the Aranyaprathet Task Force, arrested the workers at around 00:30 as they attempted to cross the border near Ban Khlong Luek in Sa Kaeo Province. The group was found climbing onto the roof of a building in a private parking lot, situated near the permanent border crossing.

Investigations revealed that the workers had been recruited through Facebook for construction jobs in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with an agreed wage of 300 baht per day. After a month of work, their employer neither paid them nor returned their ID cards. With no wages and identification, the workers were left stranded. They recounted that their employer left them in Poipet, while a guide demanded 3,000 baht each to assist their border crossing, a fee they could not afford.

The workers decided to take their chances and attempted to cross the border at night by climbing onto rooftops, but were caught by rangers. Initially, the authorities took them to the Khlong Luek Police Station for assistance and to proceed with legal actions. However, there is skepticism regarding their claim that they had crossed over as laborers.