Families of three boys expressed their thanks to the Paveena Foundation after these three children, out of seven who were deceived by a monk and taken to beg in Malaysia where they were caught in a human trafficking case, were rescued and brought back to Thailand. The others are awaiting court testimony.
In the case where Thai boys were deceived by a monk into ordaining as novices and then taken to Malaysia to beg, leading to their arrest for human trafficking and prosecution there, the children's guardians later approached the Paveena Foundation for Children and Women for help in repatriating the seven children still detained. The foundation promptly coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and related agencies to provide assistance.
Most recently, at 10:30 a.m. on 18 May 2026 at the Paveena Foundation for Children and Women, Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok, Khlong 7, Thanyaburi, Pathum Thani, three of the seven Thai children who were human trafficking victims have safely returned to their parents. They are aged 5, 11, and 12 years. The remaining four children, aged 13 to 15, were requested by Malaysian authorities to stay to testify in court in early June before returning to Thailand. The Paveena Foundation will continue closely monitoring the assistance process in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.
Ms. Paveena revealed that upon receiving the case, the foundation sent an urgent letter to the Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand requesting the prompt return of the children to Thailand. Simultaneously, they coordinated with Mr. Amnat Palaplee-wan, Director of the Protection and Welfare of Thais Abroad Division, Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, assigning foundation officials to accompany the parents of the three children to meet with Mr. Monthon Jansiri, a diplomatic officer at the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to provide information to assist all seven children. Coordination was also made with Ms. Apinya Chomphumas, Director-General of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, and Ms. Nichaphat Phetphan from the Songkhla Provincial Social Development and Human Security Office, with all agencies working together to ensure the children’s safe return home.
The foundation later received a report that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed them the three children would return to Thailand on 12 May 2026. Ms. Apinya Chomphumas assigned Ms. Nichaphat Phetphan to receive the children for protection and medical check-ups, coordinating with their families to pick up the boys at the border checkpoint in Songkhla Province. They arrived at 8:45 p.m., and when the guardians saw the children, they embraced and cried. Initially, the 5-year-old boy showed signs of fever and fatigue, so social development officers quickly took the three children for medical examinations at a hospital. They stayed at the child and family shelter in Songkhla for two nights before being reunited with their families. Today, the guardians came to meet and thank the Paveena Foundation for their assistance in bringing the children home safely.