Dec 18, 2008 (DVB), Fifteen Burmese migrants have been jailed for more than four years for working in Bangkok with fake permits, but the Thai boss who issued the permits escaped punishment, the workers' relatives told DVB.

The 13 female and two male workers, who worked in a wallet factory in Bangkok, were sentenced on Tuesday.

According to a relative of one of the workers, they paid 6000 baht for the permits, which were issued a month before their arrests, and they only found out they were fake when Thai police and immigration officials raided the factory on 28 October.

The mother of one of those sentenced, a 15-year-old girl called Aye Nyein Khet, said she was upset to hear of the arrests.

"I have been crying my heart out. I only found out about it yesterday and it should not be like," that her mother said.

"If there is anyone who can help, please help."

Many migrant workers face abuse and deception from traffickers when they try to cross borders to find work and later from their employers.

If they are not working legally in the country, they risk being arrested themselves if they report abuses to the authorities, and are more likely to face punishment than their employers.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw