Laos fines seven Thais for picking mushrooms in border area
Seven Thai nationals were fined by Laos authorities after they were reportedly caught picking mushrooms near the Ubon Ratchathani-Laos border.
The Laos authority at Muang Champassak on Friday brought seven Thai nationals -- two males and five females -- to the Chong Mek border checkpoint in Ubon Ratchathani’s Sirindhorn district, after the group allegedly entered the forest in the Laos border to pick up mushrooms.
They were reportedly fined THB6,000 each by the Laos authority for entering the country without a vaccination certificate, which is a requirement during the Covid-19 situation.
The seven were tested via swab method at the border checkpoint, according to the Ministry of Public Health’s regulations, and will stay in quarantine at Yang Noi field hospital for 14 days to monitor their symptoms.
Suwit (last name withheld), aged 33 years, one of the mushroom pickers, said that Laos officials had been taking good care of Thai detainees in Laos’ state quarantine facility while following the Covid-19 prevention protocol.
“They even allowed my relatives living in Laos to send us food that we wished to eat,” he added.
