By ASSAWIN PINITWONG, Bangkok Post

TAK: Ten adult Rohingya were arrested in Mae Sot district, near the border with Myanmar, on Tuesday night and charged with illegal entry, police said.

The two men and eight women were accompanied by a 3-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl. They were arrested at a rented room near the first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge across the Moei river in tambon Tha Sai Luat by police, military and administrative officials.

When questioned, they said they came from Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State in Myanmar, and were en route to Malaysia.

They were brought across the border to Mae Sot by brokers who charged them 140,000 baht. They had paid the first half in advance in Myanmar currency, or 5,500,000 kyat, to the brokers.

In Mae Sot, they were provided with shelter by two Thai men they identified as Roh, 47, and Mongkol, 38. The two Thai men were also arrested and charged with providing shelter for illegal migrants.

All 12 Rohingya would be repatriated to Myanmar after legal proceedings were complete, officials said.