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	The theft, which took place on the night of December 14, has forced the consulate to suspend the service until it acquires a replacement.&nbsp;</div>
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	The consulate alerted police and put in place procedures to prevent thieves from using the data stored in the machine. Thai nationals living in San Francisco are now required to apply at the consulate office in Los Angeles should they need new ID cards.&nbsp;</div>
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	The source added that the Foreign Ministry has already set up a committee to investigate the theft.&nbsp;</div>
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	In July 2013, the Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur discovered that hundreds of visa stamps had gone missing and took legal action against five local staff found to be responsible for the thefts. Investigation also found that some Thai nationals were involved but cleared embassy officials of having any hand in the thefts.&nbsp;</div>
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	Thai immigration checkpoints later identified and arrested several foreigners for allegedly using the stolen stamps.&nbsp;</div>
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	Most of the visas were issued in Malaysia, and some suspects told police that they had been charged high fees by brokers only to find the visas were fake.&nbsp;</div>

ID printing machine stolen from Thai consulate in US

THE MACHINE used to print identity cards at the Thai consulate general in Los Angeles was stolen in December, while it was being used to offer services to Thai expats in San Francisco, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.