Medical staff monitor two of the Rohingya men admitted to
hospital on Friday with stomach complaints. (Photo by Piyarach Chongcharoen)
Source Bangkok Post:
KANCHANABURI - Police have taken 16 Rohingya men to
hospital after they suddenly developed stomach pains after breakfast on Friday.
Somjate Laoluekiat, director of Phaholpolpayuhasaena
Hospital, said the patients had mild stomach aches and suggested that the cause
might be from food poisoning.
Pol Lt Col Artorn Wongjaikuer, deputy superintendent of
the Kanchanaburi Immigration Bureau, said that 150 Rohingya people ate the same
food but only 16 of them got sick.
He said that if the illness had been because of the food,
then the number of sick people should be higher.
However, he noticed that not all the illegal migrants ate
with the utensils provided, using their hands instead, so they might have
picked up some bacteria that caused stomach problems.
The patients will undergo further medical examinations,
and the meals that the migrants consumed will also be investigated, Dr Somjate
said.
According to the Immigration Police Bureau, 1,772
Rohingya have been found to have entered Thailand illegally from Jan 9 to Feb
13. Most of them are believed to come from Myanmar.
Thailand is sheltering them as illegal migrants, mostly
in the southern provinces and other places including Kanchanaburi.
However, authorities have said the country will only
commit to care for the Rohingya for six months, and they are hoping to work out
a solution with the UN and/or other countries including Myanmar.
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