The nine – eight men and a woman, all dressed in yellow – were rounded up by Immigration Police officers after a tip-off that they were working in a shop inside the wat, selling Buddhist amulets to Chinese tourists visiting the temple.
At a press conference to display the arrestees, Pol Col Sanchai Chokhayaikij said, “These people tend to work in one place for three months or so and then move on to another.
“They get paid to sell the amulets, and the employer gives some of the proceeds to the temple.” Asked if this meant that someone attached to the temple must know what was going on, he replied, “We have to check into this.”
He added that this was the first time that police had come across this kind of case, and that they would be trying to find the person who had employed the nine to sell amulets. Officers will also check other popular temples to see whether there are similar groups operating in their grounds.
The apparent leader of the group, who seemed to be from Guangdong Province in China, denied the nine were working and said they had just gone to the wat to pay respect.
Identification of the nine is not yet complete because they were not able to produce passports, and all refused to sign their names on any police document.
The nine were sent to Tung Thong Police Station to be charged with working without work permits. Further charges may follow when their passports can be tracked down.