Expose: Thong Pha Phum District Chief and Network Falsify Birth Registrations Claiming Midwife Deliveries at Worker Dormitories

• Interior Ministry Deputy Minister announced the launch of operation “Dragon Scale Reversal EP.3,” arresting the Thong Pha Phum district chief while committing offenses holding the position of district chief in Nong Prue, village headman, and broker. The scheme fraudulently registered births for children of Chinese and Myanmar nationals. The operation exposed the modus operandi as an organized network using the same claim that births occurred with midwives at worker dormitories before illegally acquiring rights across regional boundaries.
  
  Today (5 June 2026) at 14:00 at the Nong Prue District Office, Kanchanaburi Province, Mr. Jeset Thaiset, Deputy Minister of the Interior, held a press conference on the results of operation “Dragon Scale Reversal EP.3.” The operation expanded to arrest a network committing fraud by falsely registering births of foreign children to obtain Thai nationality. Present were Mr. Vitoon Sirinukul, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Provincial Administration; Ms. Warittha Sanguansermsri, Governor of Kanchanaburi Province; Mr. Supap Siri, Director of the Government Anti-Corruption Division 1; and Police Colonel Niyom Niyah, Chief of Nong Prue Police Station. The operation dismantled a transnational crime network involved in fraudulent civil registration and Thai nationality, prosecuting over 15 state officials and brokers found abusing their positions to approve false delayed birth registrations for children of foreigners.
  
  Also attending the press conference were Mr. Wutipong Supakwanit, Deputy Governor of Kanchanaburi Province; Ms. Kamonchaya Prasertsin, Kanchanaburi Provincial Secretary; Mr. Chokchai Saensit, Nong Prue District Chief; and other relevant officials from Kanchanaburi.
  
  Mr. Jeset Thaiset, Deputy Minister of the Interior and government representative, revealed that the Ministry of Interior, through the anti-registration security task force of the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA N.I.C.E.), cooperated with Kanchanaburi provincial administration, the Anti-Online Fraud Center (ACSC), Kanchanaburi Provincial Police, and the Office of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to arrest brokers and state officials collaborating to fraudulently register births, granting Thai nationality to at least 10 children of Chinese and Myanmar nationals. These offenses occurred at the Nong Prue registration office in Kanchanaburi between April 2025 and February 2026.
  
  The case involves at least 15 offenders including state officials and brokers, charged with "colluding to unlawfully register others in household registries or other civil registration documents and abusing official duties." Recently, the Regional Anti-Corruption Court Region 7 approved arrest warrants, and three key suspects have been detained:
  
  1. Mr. Phumeth Pemipong, Thong Pha Phum district chief (who held the position of Nong Prue district chief at the time of the offenses), acting as the registrar responsible for birth notifications and approvals.
  
  2. A village headman, acting as the official who received the transfer-in notification.
  
  3. A Thai man acting as a broker within the network.
  
  Mr. Vitoon Sirinukul, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Provincial Administration and head of the DOPA N.I.C.E. task force, together with representatives from the police and PACC, provided detailed information about the investigation. It began with the arrest of a network involved in falsifying birth registrations and constructing fake houses in Huai Thalaeng District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, before expanding to uncover related fraud in Nong Prue District. The investigation revealed an organized network with the following patterns:
  
  
• Use of half-nationality rights: The network designates either the father or mother as a Thai national so the child immediately acquires Thai nationality by bloodline upon approval.
• Claiming midwife delivery at worker dormitories: None of the cases had birth certificates from hospitals. Instead, they all used the same story that the child was delivered by a midwife at a worker’s dormitory because the other parent was a stateless Myanmar national unwilling to seek hospital care.
  
  
• Illegal rights across jurisdictions: Children registered in Nong Prue were actually born elsewhere, such as Thong Pha Phum, Sai Yok, and Sangkhla Buri districts, but were registered late and fraudulently in Nong Prue.
  
  
• Divorce after registration: Document checks revealed that after birth certificates were issued, nearly all couples pretended to divorce, leaving the child with the parent holding Thai nationality.
  
  
• Avoidance of DNA testing: Although the Department of Provincial Administration offers free DNA testing to verify biological relationships, the former district chief relied solely on witness testimony and refused to approve DNA tests.

At the end of the press conference, Mr. Jeset emphasized that the government places the highest priority on combating transnational crime networks, drug trafficking groups, scammers, and gray capital businesses. He said that fraudulent use or false claims of Thai nationality pose a serious threat to national security. "The Ministry of Interior and partner agencies strictly follow the directives of Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who has consistently ordered ‘close names, uphold behavior,’ regardless of the offender’s identity, rank, or influence. Legal action will be taken transparently based on evidence. The government will continue to rigorously address this issue until it is eradicated from Thai soil," Mr. Jeset said.

Ms. Warittha Sanguansermsri, Governor of Kanchanaburi and provincial registrar, together with Mr. Wutipong Supakwanit, Deputy Governor of Kanchanaburi, issued urgent orders to all district and local registration offices to enhance their operations in line with the policy of Mr. Naruetcha Kosasivilai, Director-General of the Department of Provincial Administration. Measures include implementing “Check and Balance” procedures and using the ThaiD application to assist in verification.

Moreover, Kanchanaburi province has ordered a special examination of areas where first-time ID cards are issued for individuals over 15 years old and cases of delayed birth registrations. Local guardians are instructed to inspect immediately for "vacant houses" or "houses without actual structures" to prevent fraudulent name transfers into household registries.