Regional News

Thailand’s Child Boxers Slug It Out, as Gamblers Gather

Chai Lorlam is a 9-year-old, 50-pound boxer in northeastern Thailand. The young fighters go through intense training for fights that are held for the benefit of gamblers who often wage large sums on the outcome. Chai is shown here at a recent match.

BANGKOK – Under the fluorescent lights of the boxing ring, the boy can barely see out beyond the elastic ropes that surround the fighting stage. The crowd and the festival that press in around him are shadowy outlines. But the boy can hear them.

“Chai Lorlam, 9 years old, 22.9 kilograms [just under 50 pounds],” the announcer says.

Chai can hear his trainer shouting last-minute reminders about the basics of technique. He can hear the excited laughter of other kids his age, who have squeezed their way to the front of the spectators after ditching carnival rides and balloon dart-throwing games and fried rice-cake stands to watch his fight. And he can hear the gamblers — the gamblers who shouted “Two to one — blue!” “Three to one — red!” They are betting on the odds he’ll win the fight.

Chai (center) is shown at breakfast after his morning training with other fighters. He spends most of his day at the gym

Chai knows he has to win the fight.

There’s the reputation of his gym to uphold, and all the fighters and trainers who have become like family to him — there’s the pride of his community to defend — many of whom he knows to be in the crowd.

Child boxing in Thailand is a tradition that has a long history. The child boxers bring prize money back to their families. And Chai’s village and trainers, yelling advice and pushing up against the barricades of the ring, don’t come just to cheer for him. They come to bet on him.

A Way Of Life

Child boxing has brought Thailand the ire of human rights activists, who see it as dangerous. But in Isaan, the northeastern and poorest region of Thailand, child boxing is a way of life.

It provides income to families that would otherwise have to rely on their rice paddies, athletic discipline in a place where drugs and gangs are rampant, and a way out of poverty for some children with few options.

This style of fighting, known as muay thai and sometimes called the “art of eight limbs,” uses the knees, elbows, fists and feet as striking points. It has been practiced as an art form and fighting technique in Thailand since the 12th century.

As the noise multiplies around him, Chai bows obediently toward his trainer and turns toward his opponent. They already know each other. It’s the third time the 9-year-olds have met in the ring, and this match is the tiebreaker.

The Training

On a 6-mile morning run at dawn, Chai struggles to keep pace with the older fighters. He sees the dark outlines of Phetsiam, his older cousin, and Taro, the owner’s son, pull away from him down the side of the highway.

The fights attract large crowds from surrounding villages that bet heavily on boxers from their areas. This places tremendous pressure on the young fighters.

The plains are flat as pancakes and extend to the horizon line in every direction. The world seems an endless expanse of rice paddies.

The business of rice is all some villagers near Ban Ka know. It is humble work, and for a long time agriculture was the only work available in Isaan. That was a time when many saw boxing as the only way out. As the Thai economy has boomed, more opportunity has come. More kids are going to universities, or moving to Bangkok, or getting grants to go abroad or start businesses.

But Chai is training because the boom has yet to trickle down to Thailand’s poorest. If Chai were not training, he would be in the rice paddies.

After a quick breakfast of soft-boiled eggs, stirred and chugged Rocky style out of a clear glass cup, Chai joins the other boys at the punching bags. More have arrived since he returned from his morning run. Even without a chaperone, the fighters are training themselves.

Every rural fight and temple festival might have the ticket to a Bangkok invitational somewhere in the crowds — and that’s where a young fighter can start making real money. The promoters are watching. It’s only one step from the invitationals to Lumphini, the acropolis of muay thai, where the teeming masses of the capital start putting big money on the table, and the crowd roars with real fervor, and the television cameras roll. Competition is stiff, but a pro fighter can make as much as $40,000 a year.

The kids at Chan’s Gym balance the pressure with fraternity. They are a family. As Phetsiam stops his drilling to help hoist Chai onto the pullup bar, he gives his cousin an encouraging grin.

At an afternoon training session, Chai’s parents are absent — and always have been. They divorced around the time of his birth and sent him to live with his grandparents in Phetsiam’s village. At the recommendation of the cousin’s family, the grandfather sent Chai to live with Chan at age 7 and begin his training as a muay thai fighter. In some ways, the stakes are higher for Chai than for either of his brethren in the muay thai family, though he himself may not realize it. The gym gives him everything: food, shelter, a path to success. It is an unspoken truth that he must support it with victories. It is also the only way he can help his grandfather, who is 75 and will not be able to labor in the rice paddies much longer.

The Betting

In a sport that’s more about the gambling than the show, inside knowledge on fighters means better odds and more money. Even for the matches between the youngest fighters — 7- and 8-year-olds — huge amounts of cash can trade hands. While some bets are as low as 100 baht ($3.50), they can soar to 50,000 ($1,700) baht or more.

The betting is a chaotic and unorganized process. There are no official bookies setting odds and taking money. Instead, individuals bet against each other, setting the odds with a system of complicated hand signals that are exchanged from opposite sides of the ring.

The fighters’ trainers, and the fighters’ families, are among the high-stakes bettors in the crowd. The betting is how the families and the trainers support themselves. In tightknit communities, neighbors, relatives and friends will all come out and support their hometown fighters. That’s the case with Chai and Phetsiam, who’ve attracted half their village to the fight.

Fight Night

The referee slices the air with his hand, and the bell rings with a single tap. The two boys bounce around for 30 seconds, getting the feel of each other with jabs and forward toe kicks. Neither throws anything with power. Then Chai decides to charge. A jab and a missed punch. A lean in for the clinch. The two fighters are flailing about the ring, bodies twisting around each other as they try to open up the other’s abdomen for the knee.

Chai lands a few, his opponent lands a few. The crowd roars — the fight is active and the fighters well-matched. The gamblers in the neutral corners are shouting, hand signals are flashing, and the bet volume starts to go up.

Ding! The round is over.

The trainers are in the ring almost before the bell stops vibrating. They put down a big metal pan with a stool on top of it. Two take care of Chai. They pour ice water on him, massage his legs, stretch his arms. A third yells strategy. Chai is calm and passive, nodding at his trainer.

Round 2. This time there is no hesitation. The boys go straight for each other. Chai’s opponent goes in hard for some punches, but Chai dodges them. It’s his opportunity; he comes in with his own attack. A left. A hard right. His opponent reels, drops his guard. Chai swings his right shin into his jaw.

The kid is out cold, dropping like a sack of produce. Trainers swarm the ring. The ref raises Chai’s arm and swings him around victoriously, and half the crowd goes wild with cheers. But only a few bother to watch long enough to see the small boy being led away from the ring. Most are already busy looking to collect on their bets.

Chris Walker and Morgan Hartley are freelance journalists traveling through Asia by bike.

Regional News

Thai Immigration Police Detain Over 26,000 Illegal Migrant Workers

Thailand’s Immigration Police have detained approximately 26,000 illegal migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia during an eight-day operation in Bangkok and surrounding regions, according to a Royal Thai Police spokesperson.

Mr Adisorn Keudmeuangkhon of the Bangkok-based Migrant Working Group said the drive was in response to an increasing number of concerns about an influx of illegal migrant labor.

“Some Thai people see that many illegal workers are competing for their job positions in the past few months,” he told me. “That’s why the ministry has to take tougher action.”

Civil strife in Myanmar and the recent implementation of a military conscription have driven thousands of Burmese into Thailand, while severe inflation and limited job opportunities in Laos have also encouraged an influx of workers from that country.

Between June 5 and 12, officials detained and checked 20,111 Myanmar laborers, 1,659 Laotian migrant workers, and 3,971 Cambodian workers, according to the Ministry of Labor.

It marked the start of a 120-day campaign to audit workplaces and arrest unlawful migrant workers, according to the government.

Migrant Workers to be Deported

According to Keudmeuangkhon, undocumented workers face fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 Thai baht (US $136 to $1,365), deportation, and a two-year prohibition on re-entering Thailand.

Authorities did not intend to file criminal charges, he claimed.

Authorities raided 1,774 workplaces, according to Moe Gyo, chairman of the Joint Action Committee on Burmese Affairs, which advocates for Myanmar labor rights.

He stated that since the military junta activated conscription, there has been an upsurge in the number of arrests of Myanmar citizens in Thailand who do not have a work permit identity card.

All men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 must serve in the military for at least two years. The first group of 5,000 conscripts summoned by Myanmar’s junta will start duty at the end of this month, military sources told AFP on Monday.

According to Keudmeuangkhon, the bulk of Lao migrant workers in Thailand work as fresh market shopkeepers, restaurant servers, and mall salespeople.

Most people visit Thailand as part of ASEAN’s visa-free policy for tourists, but they stay longer than the 30-day restriction once they find job.

“Employers like to hire Lao migrant workers in the service sector because they can speak fluent Thai,” he told me.

Immigration Police Detain Illegal Migrant Workers

The Thai Cabinet may approve an enhanced program for Thai employers to register their unauthorized foreign workers in July or August. Keudmeuangkhon explained.

Last month, the Thai Ministry of Labor’s Foreign Workers Administration office announced that 268,465 Lao migrant workers were officially working in Thailand.

Baykham Kattiya, Lao Minister of Labor, told Radio Free Asia earlier this month that there are 415,956 migrant workers in other nations, the majority of whom work in Thailand.

According to her, the Lao government believes that over 203,000 persons working outside of the nation lack proper work documents.

However, a Lao official familiar with the labor industry informed Radio Free Asia, a BenarNews-affiliated news station, on June 20 that the number of illegal Lao migrant workers in Thailand and abroad is likely significantly greater.

“They go to other countries as illegal migrant workers through different types of methods – as tourists or students,” said the politician. “Thus, it is hard for the immigration police to collect data on these people.”

Government Officials Responsible for Smuggling in Migrant Workers

Government Officials Responsible for Smuggling in Migrant Workers

News

High School Student Dies After Being Electrocuted By School Water Dispenser

14-year-old boy was electrocuted by a water dispenser: File Image

Thailand’s Office of Basic Education Commission has initiated an investigation into the electrocution of a 14-year-old student by a water dispenser in a high school. The event happened at noon on Friday, during the high school’s sports day. The victim was a Grade 8 student.

According to local media in Trang Province, the incident occurred when a teacher instructed the pupil to turn off a water dispenser amid a heavy rain.

According to a witness, the child collapsed while strolling with his friend near a water station. The friend claimed he attempted to assist but was also shocked by electricity.

According to reports, the friend then recovered, left the site, and requested assistance from teachers. A teacher ran to the scene and used a towel to pull the boy away by the ankle. He was taken to the hospital, but it was too late, they claimed.

The event sparked criticism from parents and netizens over school safety, as well as the slow response to aid the young youngster.

Mr. Chainarong Changrua, head of Trang-Krabi’s Secondary Educational Service Area Office, told local media on Sunday that forensic officers from Trang Provincial Police had visited the area. They discovered the blown breaker switch behind the water dispenser, he explained.

The breaker was burned out, thus the authorities assumed the disaster was caused by a short circuit that allowed energy to spill to a neighboring power pole. The student also appeared wet and was not wearing shoes when electrocuted.

According to the Office of Basic Education Commission, a probe team will complete its investigation this week.

The student’s father, Mr Pornchai Thepsuwan, 53, claimed he was saddened when he saw his son’s body. The boy (Wayu), was the youngest of two boys, he explained. He stated that following the tragedy, the school director and staff gave financial assistance to the families.

Mr Pornchai also said he would not seek charges against the institution because he believed it was an accident.

Electrical accidents in Thailand

Electrocution instances in Thailand have increased alarmingly in recent years. Many mishaps occur as a result of improper wiring and inadequate maintenance of electrical systems.

Public locations, such as schools and markets, frequently lack adequate safety precautions, putting individuals in danger. In rural areas, antiquated infrastructure exacerbates the situation, resulting in more frequent and serious events.

Although several high-profile cases have brought these challenges to light, genuine progress has been gradual. Furthermore, the rainy season heightens the likelihood of electrical accidents, as water and exposed wires do not mix well.

The government has made steps to strengthen safety standards, but enforcement is patchy. More education on electrical safety could help to reduce these accidents.

Unfortunately, better infrastructure and tougher rules may have prevented many of these incidents. The loss and injuries caused by electrocution are avoidable, emphasizing the need for immediate action.

Over 200 High School Students Facing Sedition Charges in Thailand

Over 200 High School Students Facing Sedition Charges in Thailand

News

Thailand’s Tourist Police Crackdown on Tourist Scammers in Pattaya

Tourist Police Pattaya: File Image

Thailand’s Tourist Police said it is collaborating with embassies from five countries to combat tourist scams and ten criminal gangs in Pattaya. The Tourist Police Bureau, convened a meeting on Thursday Pol Lt Gen Saksira Phuek-am told a press briefing.

Pol Lt Gen Saksira Phuek-am, the Tourist Police bureau commissioner said the participants included ambassadors from South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, India, and Switzerland.

He told the briefing the he had ordered a crackdown on tourist frauds, such as fraudulent or low-quality tour operators and unfair sales of goods and services. Stepped-up operations began on June 19 and will continue until June 25.

He stated that the agency was working with numerous organisations to increase tourists’ confidence in visiting Pattaya.

Gen Saksira spent time on the famed Walking Street speaking with officers on duty and assigned them to seek for members of ten criminal groups known to operate in Pattaya.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will visit Chon Buri on Saturday to assess the tourism situation. He intends to visit the site of a future Formula One racecourse near Khao Phra Tamnak in Bang Lamung District.

Prime Minister Srettha recently met with Formula One organisers in Italy to examine the potential of including Thailand on the race schedule in the future.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister will pay a visit to Rayong’s U-tapao airport to discuss development on the airport’s land, with the goal of encouraging investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor.

Police Chief Reinstated

In other police news, Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol has been reinstated as national police chief following the conclusion of an investigation into a highly publicised quarrel, according to Wissanu Krea-ngam, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s counsellor.

Mr Wissanu released the investigation’s findings on Thursday, after the prime minister formed a fact-finding committee chaired by Chatchai Promlert to investigate into the quarrel between Pol Gen Torsak and his deputy, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn.

The four-month study revealed conflicts and disorder at all levels of the Royal Thai Police, but it was unclear whether these issues arose from a single cause or several causes, according to Mr Wissanu.

The findings revealed that both Pol Gen Torsak and Pol Gen Surachate were involved, with each team contributing to the tensions, he noted.

Mr Wissanu indicated that Pol Gen Surachate was reinstated as deputy national police head on 18 April following his relocation to the Prime Minister’s Office on 20 March. A disciplinary committee was formed to investigate Pol Gen Surachate, and he was ordered temporarily suspended from the police force.

Because there were no further difficulties to explore, it was decided to restore Pol Gen Torsak. He plans to retire on September 30.

On March 20, Mr Srettha abruptly transferred both top police officers to the Prime Minister’s Office in an effort to address the growing schism within the police service.

Kitrat Panphet, Deputy National Police Chief, was subsequently named Acting Police Chief. According to sources, Pol Gen Surachate could face money laundering charges related to online gaming networks.

Source: Bangkok Post