Four Thai nationals were charged with human trafficking by a Malaysian court on Friday, in relation to the discovery of mass graves near the country’s border with Thailand back in 2015. The incident unveiled over 100 bodies buried in the jungle, prompting an extensive investigation. The accused, aged between 30 and 58, now face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty according to court documents.
The men, who were extradited to Malaysia on Thursday, are alleged to have been involved in trafficking between 2013 and 2015. They are set to be held in a prison in the northern town of Kangar before their next scheduled court appearance on July 25. Donning white T-shirts and chained together, the suspects were brought to a court in Kangar, a location near where the graves and trafficking camps were discovered.
These suspects are among the 10 Thai nationals that Malaysia has been seeking since 2017 as part of an ongoing investigation into the border camps. Their extradition is a significant milestone as this marks “the first time in Thai history that Thai individuals have been extradited to be punished abroad,” according to Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, who spoke at a briefing in Bangkok on Friday.
The region is notorious for its porous border, which has long served as a gateway for persecuted Rohingya Muslims escaping violence in Myanmar and economic migrants from Bangladesh. In the past, smugglers have brought tens of thousands of Rohingya through treacherous journeys over land and sea to Malaysia – a country perceived as relatively affluent and safe for Muslim-majority inhabitants.
Malaysia heavily relies on cheap foreign workers from countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Myanmar to supplement its construction, plantation, and services sectors. A 2019 report authored by Malaysian human rights commissioners and a rights group unveiled a human smuggling syndicate that operated in the area between 2012 and 2015. The report exposed the inhumane conditions in jungle camps where migrants were held, often subjected to physical violence and deprived of adequate food and water supplies.
In the wake of Thailand’s largest-ever human trafficking trial in 2017, the Criminal Court in the country convicted 62 individuals, including an army general, multiple police officers, and provincial officials. This case of the four Thai nationals charged in Malaysia adds to the continued fight against human trafficking in the region.
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