Ten Thai nationals who claimed they were being forced to work without pay in Phnom Penh made a daring escape across rooftops and re-entered Thailand early Wednesday morning.
The Thai army’s Burapa Task Force reported the group’s illegal return on its official Facebook page. Paramilitary rangers spotted the individuals on a rooftop near the Ban Khlong Luek checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province, before safely bringing them down for questioning.
According to their statements, the group had accepted job offers for construction work in the Cambodian capital, with promises of a daily wage of 300 baht.
However, after working for a month, none of them received any payment. With no money and no clear way out, they decided to escape and return to Thailand.
They said their employer transported them to Poipet, near the Thai border, where a trafficker demanded 3,000 baht each to help them cross.
Without the funds to pay, the group chose to make their own way back, climbing and crawling across connected rooftops to reach Thai territory.
Police took all ten individuals to Khlong Luek police station for legal processing. Officials confirmed that they would receive assistance and support as part of standard procedures for trafficking victims.
The returnees did not explain why they had chosen jobs in Cambodia that paid less than similar work in Thailand.
However, some Thai media outlets suggested the group may have been escaping from a scam call centre, rather than legitimate construction work.
