Transnational crime involving foreign gangs and criminals rising in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
Nine
types of transnational
crime
have been found recently in Thailand. Here are some of them: 1. Street pilfering by
Cambodians and Vietnamese
2. Hacking of ATM card information by Malaysian gangs. The gangs install fake card slots at ATMs. Card holders' information is then stolen by tiny skimmers inside the slots and small cameras hidden above can record people entering their PINs.
3. An Argentine thief followed a gold and jewellery businessman to his car and stole gold and cash worth 4 million baht. The thief was later arrested at a Pattaya beach.
4. At luxury hotels Iranians and Pakistanis disguise themselves as guests, break into hotel room safes and steal valuables from wealthy individuals.
5. A Taiwanese gang allegedly colluded with a Thai man in a tax refund scam.
2. Hacking of ATM card information by Malaysian gangs. The gangs install fake card slots at ATMs. Card holders' information is then stolen by tiny skimmers inside the slots and small cameras hidden above can record people entering their PINs.
3. An Argentine thief followed a gold and jewellery businessman to his car and stole gold and cash worth 4 million baht. The thief was later arrested at a Pattaya beach.
4. At luxury hotels Iranians and Pakistanis disguise themselves as guests, break into hotel room safes and steal valuables from wealthy individuals.
5. A Taiwanese gang allegedly colluded with a Thai man in a tax refund scam.
In the last three weeks there have been three cases of alleged transnational crime reported. The Transnational Crime Centre of the CoordinationCentral Investigation Bureau is in charge of investigating these cases. Suspects have already been identified
These crimes are committed in as many as 50 different countries by gangs and criminals operating across international borders, so international cooperation will be essential in quickly and successfully resolve such cases. Several improvements in law enforcement are needed including:
1.
Better international cooperation in sharing criminal records
2. Better joint efforts with police in other countries will be necessary to
3. Introduction of a law to ensure foreigners who commit crimes in Thailand are prosecuted here.
2. Better joint efforts with police in other countries will be necessary to
3. Introduction of a law to ensure foreigners who commit crimes in Thailand are prosecuted here.
(Source: Bangkok Post, 16/03/09, Police 'fighting a losing battle: Crime involving foreigners is rising, Wassayos Ngamkham, link)
Vocabulary:
transnational crime - when a criminal or gang engages in crime in many different countries อาชญากรรมข้ามชาติ
engages in - do or be involved in an activity เข้าร่วม
commit a crime - do a crime ก่ออาชญากรรม
pilfer - steal small cheap things การลักเล็กขโมยน้อย
street pilfering - stealing small cheap things on the street (from shops, from pedestrians) การฉกชิงวิ่งราว
hacking - breaking into a computer system in order to get secret information การแฮ็คข้อมูล (การโจรกรรมข้อมูลทางคอมพิวเตอร์)
install - put a piece of equipment somewhere and make it ready to be used ติดตั้งอุปกรณ์
fake - not the real thing or genuine ปลอม
a slot - a narrow opening in a machine ช่อง (เสียบบัตร)
a card holder - the owner of the credit card ผู้ถือบัตร
skimmers - the part of a machine where an id card passes through to give information (place where you stick your ATM card) เครื่องอ่านข้อมูล
a PIN - a Personal Identification Number, the secret number or password that you use to enter your bank account at an ATM machine รหัสบัตร
disguise - change your appearance so that people do not know who you are, cannot identify you (by wearing different clothes, haircut, mask, beard, moustache) ปลอมตัว
break into - enter using force บุกเข้าไป
a safe - a strong locked box used to protect valuable objects against theft, fire, or other damage (See Wikipedia) ตู้เซฟ
hotel room safes - small safes in hotel rooms to protect the valuables of guests เซฟใ้นห้องพักของโรงแรม
valuables - objects that have high value that a person owns and carries with them สิ่งของมีค่า
allegedly - claimed but not yet proven ที่กล่าวหา
cooperate (verb ) - work with other people to help them achieve a goal ร่วมมือกัน
cooperation (noun) - the act of working with other people to help them achieve a goal การทำงานเป็นทีม
collude - cooperate with other people secretly and illegally การสมรู้ร่วมคิด
coordination - organising he activities of two or more groups so that they can work together towards a goal การประสานงานกัน
a tax refund - tax payments that people make that the government gives back to them การได้เงินภาษีคืน
a scam - an illegal trick to get money from people การฉ้อฉล
Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) - an group within the Thai police that helps local police all over Thailand
suspects - people who may have committed the crime, identified by the police ผู้ต้องสงสัย
operating across international borders - not only working in one country, but moving from country to country, committing crimes การทำงานข้ามชาติ
prosecute - charge a person with a crime and put them on trial (if they are found guilty they are punished) การตั้งข้อหา
resolve - find a solution to and solve a problem, difficulty, or argument หาทางแก้ปัญหา
resolve a criminal case - find out who the criminal was who committed the crime and then successfully prosecute and punish คลี่คลายคดีอาชญากรรม
criminal records - information about a criminal, their crimes, and operating methods kept by the police ประวัติอาชญากร
joint efforts - working together with other people and orrganisations การร่วมมือกัน
ensure - make sure and certain that something happens ให้ความมั่นใจ
transnational crime - when a criminal or gang engages in crime in many different countries อาชญากรรมข้ามชาติ
engages in - do or be involved in an activity เข้าร่วม
commit a crime - do a crime ก่ออาชญากรรม
pilfer - steal small cheap things การลักเล็กขโมยน้อย
street pilfering - stealing small cheap things on the street (from shops, from pedestrians) การฉกชิงวิ่งราว
hacking - breaking into a computer system in order to get secret information การแฮ็คข้อมูล (การโจรกรรมข้อมูลทางคอมพิวเตอร์)
install - put a piece of equipment somewhere and make it ready to be used ติดตั้งอุปกรณ์
fake - not the real thing or genuine ปลอม
a slot - a narrow opening in a machine ช่อง (เสียบบัตร)
a card holder - the owner of the credit card ผู้ถือบัตร
skimmers - the part of a machine where an id card passes through to give information (place where you stick your ATM card) เครื่องอ่านข้อมูล
a PIN - a Personal Identification Number, the secret number or password that you use to enter your bank account at an ATM machine รหัสบัตร
disguise - change your appearance so that people do not know who you are, cannot identify you (by wearing different clothes, haircut, mask, beard, moustache) ปลอมตัว
break into - enter using force บุกเข้าไป
a safe - a strong locked box used to protect valuable objects against theft, fire, or other damage (See Wikipedia) ตู้เซฟ
hotel room safes - small safes in hotel rooms to protect the valuables of guests เซฟใ้นห้องพักของโรงแรม
valuables - objects that have high value that a person owns and carries with them สิ่งของมีค่า
allegedly - claimed but not yet proven ที่กล่าวหา
cooperate (verb ) - work with other people to help them achieve a goal ร่วมมือกัน
cooperation (noun) - the act of working with other people to help them achieve a goal การทำงานเป็นทีม
collude - cooperate with other people secretly and illegally การสมรู้ร่วมคิด
coordination - organising he activities of two or more groups so that they can work together towards a goal การประสานงานกัน
a tax refund - tax payments that people make that the government gives back to them การได้เงินภาษีคืน
a scam - an illegal trick to get money from people การฉ้อฉล
Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) - an group within the Thai police that helps local police all over Thailand
suspects - people who may have committed the crime, identified by the police ผู้ต้องสงสัย
operating across international borders - not only working in one country, but moving from country to country, committing crimes การทำงานข้ามชาติ
prosecute - charge a person with a crime and put them on trial (if they are found guilty they are punished) การตั้งข้อหา
resolve - find a solution to and solve a problem, difficulty, or argument หาทางแก้ปัญหา
resolve a criminal case - find out who the criminal was who committed the crime and then successfully prosecute and punish คลี่คลายคดีอาชญากรรม
criminal records - information about a criminal, their crimes, and operating methods kept by the police ประวัติอาชญากร
joint efforts - working together with other people and orrganisations การร่วมมือกัน
ensure - make sure and certain that something happens ให้ความมั่นใจ
