Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing, well this recent news story about the essentially sort of like a street brawl associated with transsexual folks here in Bangkok. I have done another video on this, it's quite an over the top story but it is one that has ramifications in an Immigration context. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Thai Examiner, that is thaiexaminer.com, the article is titled: Huge Street battle in Bangkok's Sukhumvit area between Thai and Filipino transsexuals being probed. Quoting directly: "Police and Immigration Bureau Officials probe Immigration status of the Filipino transsexuals". So apparently this was a brawl between "ladyboys" of Thai nationality and "ladyboys" of Philippine nationality. Quoting further, and as per usual, the Thai Examiner goes into great detail on this. I urge those who are watching this video, go read that article in detail, quoting further: "All arrived from the Philippines on 30-day Tourist Visas. On Tuesday morning, it led to concerns over Immigration violations and illegal activities."  In short, seasoned police sources suggested the involvement of an influential racket. The importation of Filipino transsexual prostitutes into Thailand using Tourist Visas. Undoubtedly, according to Police Major General Withawat Chinkham, Commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5, many of the Filipino transsexuals entered Thailand on 30-day visas. The tourists from the Philippines had taken up residence in hotels along Sukhumvit Soi 11. Many of these are high-class establishments catering for wealthy foreign tourists. The operators told Immigration Bureau Police on Tuesday they had no knowledge of organized prostitution services. Police similarly reported that all the transsexual women had booked their own rooms. According to Commander Wisut, the Filipino ladyboy community has established a long-standing presence in Sukhumvit Soi 11." 

So interesting here that in the aftermath of this street fight, it appears that there is serious concern on the part of Thai Immigration officials as to the ongoing status of these foreign individuals and I suspect that a lot of strict scrutiny is going to be applied moving forward. Strictly speaking and specifically, I think it is safe to presume we are going to see Thai Immigration looking carefully at folks that are residing in that area and also looking carefully at folks who they think may be coming to Thailand to engage in illicit activity. 

Now exactly what the upshot of this may look like, as in the possibility of a major Immigration crackdown, remains to be seen, but we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.