A 29-year-old Vietnamese illegal migrant worker turned himself in at a police station in Pingtung, Taiwan, on Saturday afternoon, seeking speedy repatriation to be with his elderly parents who were unwell in Vietnam.
When officers Lin and Huang of the Pingtung County Police Bureau received a foreign man carrying several pieces of luggage on March 30, they at first assumed he was a lost tourist needing assistance, the Real Daily reported.
Before the two officers were able to ask how they could help, the man volunteered that he was an illegal migrant worker who had run away from his employer in Changhua County last year.
Since then, he had been working illegally, reportedly earning more than NT$40,000 (US$1,300) per month. However, he had lately learned of the failing health of his elderly parents and wanted to rush home to them as soon as possible.
The two officers verified the man’s confession, but despite this, his case still had to be referred to the Pingtung office of the National Immigration Agency under charges of violation of Taiwan’s Immigration Law.