‘Fathers for hire’ exposed in alleged Chinese newborn birth-certificate scam

Thai police have arrested a hospital medical-records officer and a district office official in Thonburi over an alleged birth-registration racket that used fake Thai fathers to help children of Chinese nationals obtain Thai nationality.

The arrests were made on July 9 under an operation codenamed “Thot Klet Mangkon”, or “removing the dragon’s scales”, led by Pol Gen Samran Nualma, deputy national police chief, and Pol Lt Gen Nopphasin Poolsawat, commissioner attached to the Royal Thai Police chief’s office. They were joined by Metropolitan Police officers and Withun Sirinukun, deputy director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration.

Police said the operation targeted a network known as the “Chinese infant” gang, which allegedly arranged for Chinese women to give birth in Thailand and used Thai men to falsely claim paternity, allowing the children to be registered as Thai nationals.

Investigators arrested a woman identified only as Ms S, a medical-records officer at a private hospital in Thonburi. She is accused of acting as a broker for Chinese clients seeking to give birth at the hospital and of helping prepare birth-certification documents and parental records for later birth registration.

According to investigators, the hospital package cost 70,000 baht, while Ms S allegedly received a separate 20,000-baht coordination fee for handling documentation. Police said she had been involved in the scheme for more than five years.

A review of hospital records found 164 cases involving Chinese nationals who used Thai fathers to register births, according to the report. Investigators said many of the records showed no earlier antenatal history involving a Thai father, with the alleged father appearing only later in the process when the hospital issued birth-related certification.

Police said arrest warrants included allegations of officials performing or omitting duties unlawfully or dishonestly. After being informed of their legal rights, the suspects were taken to the Metropolitan Police Division 8 headquarters for questioning and further investigation.

Investigators said the case stemmed from an expanded probe into Chinese scammer networks allegedly using Thailand as a base for laundering more than 70 billion baht. The inquiry reportedly found suspicious money transfers through mule accounts to a Chinese woman who had three children holding Thai nationality, prompting checks that allegedly uncovered the use of Thai men as fake husbands or fathers.

Police said the network operated in a structured manner. The hospital officer allegedly contacted Chinese clients and arranged for them to give birth at a private hospital in Thonburi, while a district office official in the same area allegedly handled birth-certificate registration.

The district office process allegedly involved either Thai men registering marriages or falsely certifying themselves as fathers of the children. The fee for this stage was reportedly between 2,000 and 15,000 baht, depending on the arrangement.

Initial checks of the civil-registration database under the Department of Provincial Administration found 62 birth-registration records involving foreign mothers and Thai fathers allegedly linked to the two officials. Investigators also found that the suspects had acted as birth informants or issued birth certificates in at least 19 entries.

Police said the alleged operation had run from 2020 to the present and was advertised in China as a 70,000-baht childbirth package in Thailand. Most of the births were reportedly registered in the Thonburi area.

Investigators believe some Chinese clients wanted Thai nationality for their children so the children could later be used to hold property and assets in Thailand. Police said those assets included both legally acquired property and property allegedly connected to criminal activity and money laundering.

The case is now being expanded to determine whether more officials, brokers or clients were involved in the alleged network.