Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Begging Permits in Thailand. Yeah never heard of it either. This is one of those "you learn something new every day". I was just kind of wandering around the inter-webs looking for information to present on this channel that's relevant to expats etc. and just interesting generally and I came upon this. This is from the Phuket News, that is thephuketnews.com, the article is titled: Phuket issues additional Begging Permits. Quoting directly: "Officials confirmed on Thursday, June 29th that they have issued a further 29 Permits allowing homeless people across the island to legally undertake the act of begging for money." Quoting further: "As per the Beggar Control Act of B.E. 2559, conducting such a practice without an Official Permit is illegal in Thailand with offences punishable with imprisonment not exceeding one month and or a 10,000 Baht fine." 

Now that I am actually thinking about it making this video I think we might have actually done a video on this going back a while ago when we did a video on so-called beg packing, the practice, and this is quite some time ago, the practice of international travellers, so-called backpackers coming to Thailand and then engaging in begging because they felt that they should or could or whatever; not something folks here in the foreign or Thai Community really loved because it is really, something wrong with that. 

But long story short, yeah there is a Begging Act. What did I call this here? Beggar Control Act. Relatively recently promulgated and it does exist and it is there for the purpose of basically regulating those who are engaging in begging and there is a Permit process and there are fines associated with not having one, although I find it interesting trying to figure out how to enforce a fine against somebody who is begging because presumably they don't have any money. But sometimes it is not wise to presume. In my first years out here especially here in Bangkok, I came to find out that many beggars, seeming beggars, actually were quite well off in that personal lives, far more well off than I would have otherwise thought and I am not saying that that is all beggars. But yeah there is a legal mechanism and a legal regulatory structure to deal with begging here in the Kingdom of Thailand.