Police to address alleged human trafficking in Thailand

BANGKOK, June 23 (TNA) - The Royal Thai Police says it is prepared to tackle human trafficking related issues, especially in the local fishing industry and illegal migrants, after the United States last Friday downgraded Thailand to the lowest ranking in its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Despite expressing his disappointment with the US State Department's decision on downgrading Thailand from its Tier 2 to Tier 3 human trafficking watch list in its 2014 TIP Report, Acting National Police Chief Police General Watcharaphon Prasanratchakit told journalists on Monday that the Royal Thai police will thoroughly look into Thailand's alleged weak points stated in the US 2014 TIP Report and renew its efforts to fight human trafficking related problems in the country, especially in the local fishing industry and those involving in illegal immigration of Rohingya and Xinjiang Uygur Muslims, in particular, to be in line with international human rights standards. According to the acting national police chief, Thai police have also worked hard to crack down pirated and fake products to avoid being targeted by international governments, which may consequently affect the overall Thai economy. (TNA)