People’s Party MP calls to fix biometric system to combat transnational crime

People’s Party MP Rangsiman Rome on Friday called on Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai to improve the airport biometric system to combat transnational crime.

According to his Facebook post, Rangsiman claimed that the biometric system collected only passenger images and fingerprints, saying that it could take up to 29 months for the Immigration Bureau to access that information.

“As many as 17 million people enter and exit Thailand without collecting their identity,” he pointed out.Rangsiman noted that Thai authorities would be able to hunt down a criminal who fled Thailand after he committed a crime in the country. However they would not be able to do so if such a criminal changed his name, passport and nationality, he explained.

He added that representatives from the Immigration Bureau had called the National Security Council to tackle this issue seven times, but nothing happened.

“This is a big failure of the police organisation to allow the entry and exit of foreigners who might be transnational criminals, but disguise themselves as tourists without recording their identities,” he said.He believes that a loophole in the airport biometric system is among the reasons behind transnational crimes and illegal businesses in Thailand. He also claimed that public agencies would not be able to deal with them.

“This is a problem that should be addressed urgently. We need to close this loophole,” he said.

Rangsiman expressed concerns that Chinese citizens suspected of telecom fraud who were repatriated on Thursday might return to Thailand again. “Do not let Thailand become a paradise for grey businesses,” he added.

(2025/02/21-00:00)