Police raiding the house in Sakeo where a tortured Finnish girl was rescued. Photo – Amarin TVThai immigration police, working with several agencies and representatives of the Finnish Embassy, have rescued an 11-year-old Finnish girl from a house in Sa Kaeo province after authorities were alerted that she was being held captive and abused.
The operation took place at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday 22 January, when officers raided a house in Watthana Nakhon district following coordination between Thai authorities and the Finnish Embassy in Bangkok.
According to Thai immigration police, the case emerged after the girl sent an email to police in Finland stating that she was being detained and tortured inside a house in Sa Kaeo. The information was relayed to Thai authorities through the Finnish Embassy.
Immigration officials in Sa Kaeo province carried out the operation together with provincial tourist police, officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking Division, local police at Ban Thap Mai police station, officials from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and district administrative authorities.
At the house, officers found the girl along with two Finnish nationals identified as a 56-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman who were responsible for her care.
Passport checks showed that the two adults had entered Thailand on 15 November 2021 and were permitted to remain in the country until 30 January 2024. Authorities determined that they had overstayed their visas by 723 days. Both were arrested on charges of overstaying their permission to remain in the Kingdom and were taken to Ban Thap Mai police station for further legal proceedings. Thai media report that both admitted to the overstay offence.
The girl was placed under the protection of the Sa Kaeo provincial office of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and is to be handed over to the Finnish Embassy in Thailand for further care and processing under established procedures.
According to Finnish newspaper Iltalehti, the two suspects are a Finnish couple who had been living in Thailand for several years. The newspaper reports that the girl was under their guardianship and that she contacted authorities herself to ask for help, stating that she was being held against her will and abused.
A pair of iron bars was found in the man’s possession. (Illustrative image, iltalehti.fi)
Iltalehti also reports background information on the male suspect’s previous convictions in Finland related to financial crimes, based on court records, while stating that the female suspect does not have a known criminal record in Finland in recent years.
Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs has confirmed that it is aware of a consular case involving a child in Thailand. The ministry has declined to comment further on the matter, citing privacy considerations.
Thai authorities have not released details regarding any charges beyond immigration violations, and investigations related to the child welfare allegations are continuing.
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