59 Rohingya found on Thai island abandoned by traffickers
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A group of Rohingya people seeking refuge in Malaysia was found on an island in Thailand after being abandoned by smugglers.
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A Police statement said the group appeared starving and was likely to have had no food for three to five days.
Fifty-nine Rohingya people have been discovered on a Thai island, saying they were abandoned by traffickers en route to Malaysia, a senior police officer said Sunday.
The group - among them five children - were found on Koh Dong island in the southern Satun province on Saturday, noted Lieutenant General Surachet Hakpan.
Each year, thousands of the mostly Muslim minority Rohingya people, heavily persecuted in Myanmar, risk their lives in months-long expensive journeys to reach Malaysia over Thailand's seas.
Police said they had been charged with illegal entry and could be sent back to where they are persecuted, Myanmar, following a court case.
"We are providing humanitarian assistance and will investigate whether they are victims of human trafficking or if they entered illegally," Surachet indicated.
A police statement said the group appeared "starving and was likely to have had no food for three to five days."
Group members told officers their boat was among three vessels carrying 178 people that had left Myanmar and Bangladesh, having paid an agent around 5,000 ringgit ($1,300) for the journey.
Read more: Bangladesh police detain 450 Rohingya celebrating Eid holiday on beach
According to the Thai police statement, the first two boats carrying 119 people were stopped and arrested by Malaysian authorities.
The boat's crew then decided to abandon those onboard on Koh Dong island - telling them that they had reached Malaysia, the group told officers.
Rohingya people denied many rights
The incident comes after the bodies of 14 Rohingya people, including children, were discovered washed up on a beach last month after they attempted to flee Myanmar.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people fled a military crackdown in the nation in 2017, bringing with them harrowing stories of murder, rape, and arson.
Those still in Myanmar are widely seen as interlopers from Bangladesh and are largely denied citizenship, many rights, and access to healthcare and education.
Muslim-majority Malaysia is a key destination for Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar or refugee camps in Bangladesh.
