Labour ministry denies Thais killed in a brawl in Kuwait

However, Labour Minister Apai Chandanachulaka said no Thai workers had been killed as a result of the brawl last Thursday night, but four had sustained slight injuries.

A worker's relative in Phichit, Yor, (not her real name) told The Nation Monday that her son-in-law, who is one of 1,000 Thai workers at the Kuwait site, often told her that the Thai and Egyptian workers did not get along well.

The Egyptian workers bullied the Thais by cutting into the queues for food and pushing to get on vehicles to work, she said.

In the latest incident, some of the 20,000 Egyptian workers invaded the Thai workers' camp on Thursday night, attacking them and damaging their belongings.

They were furious that drunken Thai workers had intruded on the Muslim camp's prayer room and reportedly urinated there, Yor said.

Yor said that her son-in-law had contacted her on Sunday saying that many Thai workers were injured and at least two were killed in the brawl. She quoted him as saying that labour recruitment agencies had moved the Thai workers out of the area and promised to provide extra security.

"The government's information doesn't match what we know from those who were there. After the brawl, my soninlaw and other Thai workers felt disheartened. But the Thai ambassador, who went to inspect the scene and provide assistance, did not do what he supposed to do because, soon after his arrival, he hurried away for fear of security," Yor said.

Some Thai workers' had requested repatriation due to fear for their safety.

She said many Thai workers wanted to come home, so she had called a government hotline 1111 to ask for assistance in repatriating them but did not receive a satisfactory response. She was told by officials to contact the Phichit Labour Office, despite the fact that the matter was urgent, she said. Meanwhile, Apai said he had instructed three labour recruitment agencies to review their plans for taking care of Thai workers in Kuwait in cases of emergency.

Apai said it was up to the Kuwaiti legal system whether or not the Thai workers involved in the brawl would be sent back home. He insisted the incident was an isolated case involving a particular group and thus would not affect other Thai workers in Kuwait.

On Sunday the Labour Ministry ordered recruitment agencies to stop sending Thai workers to Kuwait until an investigation into the brawl was complete and to prevent the situation from getting worse.