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KOTA BHARU – After allegedly begging on the pavement outside a bank for four years, a 68-year-old Thai woman surrendered to authorities during an integrated operation on Wednesday night, admitting that she had no one left to depend on.
The woman claimed that she had lost her husband and only son in accidents, leaving her to live alone.
“If you want to arrest me, then arrest me. I really have no one left,” she said.
She admitted earning only about RM30 that day as fewer people were giving money compared with before.
“People do not give as much anymore. I only made RM30 today.
“I came here at 8pm, after people finished work. I cannot come during the day because I will be chased away,” she said.
According to the elderly woman, the money she earned was used to cover her daily needs, including water and electricity bills.
She said someone had allowed her to stay for free in a room near the stadium after she was left without a permanent place to live.
“I have no family. My only child died in an accident and my husband is also gone,” she said.
The woman said she had previously been detained and sent back to Tak Bai, Thailand, but returned because she had no one to depend on.
“Even if I am sent back, I do not know where I would go. I came back because I have no one,” she said.
She also claimed to suffer from a nerve problem in her left leg, making it difficult for her to move around.
Meanwhile, another Thai national, aged 63, who was found during the operation claimed to have entered Malaysia from Pattani, Thailand, on July 12 through Pengkalan Kubor.
The woman showed her passport and pleaded not to be prosecuted, saying that she intended to return to Thailand.
“I want to go back to Thailand tomorrow.
“Please, just this once. I will not do it again. I did not know this was wrong,” she said.
The woman was, however, rescued along with eight others in the operation targeting beggars and homeless individuals, conducted by the Kota Bharu Islamic City Municipal Council together with the Social Welfare Department, Immigration Department of Malaysia and Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).
