Thai immigration officials recently revealed that some Chinese males illegally obtain residency in Thailand by finding a local Thai woman to be a surrogate, then entering the country to raise the child and bypass local restrictions on foreign asset ownership. These activities have raised concerns among the Thai public.
On April 4, a commercial surrogacy crime syndicate was exposed during a police raid in a kidnapping case in Silom, Bangkok. Three Burmese and four Chinese nationals were arrested, and two kidnapped Chinese men were rescued. The two kidnapped were abducted in Chonburi on March 20 and extorted for 5 million baht (about $150,000), according to an April 6 report in Thai media, The Nation.
