Bangkok - The Thai government has no plans
to make prisoners work on fishing boats, officials said on Friday.
The Thai government denied plans widely
reported by media in November that it would use prisoners as labour on fishing
boats to reduce the number of illegal or trafficked migrants on the vessels.
"We will not use prisoners on fishing
vessels now or in the future," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sek
Wannamethee.
Sek attributed the reports to a
brainstorming session conducted by the Ministry of Labour as part of efforts to
stop human trafficking.
He categorically denied that such plans
were ever likely to be implemented.
The denial comes a day after 45 NGOs and
trade unions submitted a letter to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha
condemning the idea.
The groups had argued that such measures
would not solve "Thailand's endemic trafficking problem”.
