Pol. Lt. Gen. Nopphasin led a phase 3 crackdown on the 'Fake Thai Fathers' network, exposing paid identity fraud costing a few thousand baht that enabled individuals to obtain engineering and medical degrees. Authorities plan to revoke citizenship for 24 cases.
At 10:30 a.m. on 27 Oct 2026 GMT+7, Police Chief Somran Nualma ordered Pol. Lt. Gen. Nopphasin Poolsawat, Commander of the Immigration Bureau, along with Pol. Maj. Gen. Cherngron Rimpadee, Deputy Commander and spokesperson, to coordinate forces from the Immigration Police, Investigation Division of Metropolitan Police Division 8, and the DOPA N.I.C.E. special operations unit from the Department of Provincial Administration. They launched an operation to dismantle the corrupt civil registration network dubbed “Cutting Off the Fake Thai Fathers” phase 3. They executed 46 arrest warrants covering government officials, hospital personnel, foreign mothers, paid signatory Thai fathers, true fathers who are foreigners, and others involved in illegal citizenship claims.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Nopphasin revealed that the operation expanded investigations into corruption involving Thai men hired to register as fathers of foreign children to unlawfully obtain Thai citizenship via false birth registrations in multiple private hospitals. Previously, phase 1 uncovered 3 children and arrested 6 suspects, while phase 2 found 22 children and arrested 36 suspects.
In the latest phase 3 sweep, authorities identified 24 children suspected of fraudulent citizenship linked to eight hospitals. DNA tests comparing samples from these children with the Thai men listed as fathers on their birth certificates confirmed no biological relationship in any case. This led to immediate approval of 46 arrest warrants for those involved.
A key case involved Mr. Taweesak (surname withheld), 27, whose birth certificate listed a Thai man named Mr. Wanchai as his father. However, DNA tests showed his real father is Mr. Chen, a Chinese national. This fraudulent identity allowed Taweesak to use Thai citizenship to graduate with a bachelor's degree in engineering from a prestigious university and work at a private company earning 30,000 baht monthly. He was arrested at his home in Bang Khun Thian while living with his biological Chinese parents. Mr. Wanchai confessed that 27 years ago he was paid 5,000 baht to register a marriage for business benefits.
Another case involved 23-year-old twin brothers whose birth certificates named a Thai man currently imprisoned for drug offenses as their father. DNA tests disproved this. The elder twin is a fifth-year medical student at a leading university and was arrested during an internship at a hospital in Si Racha District, Chonburi Province. The younger twin graduated from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and works as a programmer earning 50,000 baht monthly; he was arrested at his condominium in Thonburi. Their mother was arrested under the national ID card law and is under investigation regarding her own acquisition of Thai citizenship.
Authorities also found two boys aged 7 and 3 with the same Chinese mother but different Thai fathers registered. One father was a motorcycle taxi driver paid 5,000 baht to falsely claim paternity. DNA tests showed the biological father was a Chinese man. Officials arrested the real father at his residence in Samut Prakan Province, which also served as a company office where the children's mother is a shareholder. Investigations are ongoing to determine if the company is a nominee entity used for business purposes in Thailand.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Nopphasin concluded that the 24 children will undergo legal procedures to revoke their registration status and documents obtained unlawfully, balancing human rights and the best interests of the children. He emphasized that the Royal Thai Police will intensify efforts to trace the masterminds, including brokers and complicit government officials, to seal loopholes in the national civil registration system and prevent future misuse.