Even though authorities faced an unruly mob in Sa Kaew province on Wednesday while taking legal action against a major vendor, the government should continue its crackdown on sales of counterfeit brand-name products to protect the country’s image, said Thammarat Chokwatana, vice executive chairman of ICC International Plc.

ICC International produces Lacoste, Wacoal, Arrow and other international brands under licence in Thailand. Thammarat said there have been fake products using these brand names on sale in the Thai markets for years, hurting the legitimate trademark owners.

Violation of the IPs, which include brand names, trademarks, copyrights and patents, has been rampant in Thailand for a long time, he said, adding that some foreign investors are therefore reluctant to invest and manufacture their products here due to such a concern.

However, the dramatic face-off on Wednesday between Department of Special Investigation (DSI) officials and a mob of 400 Cambodian vendors and workers in Rong Kluea market in Sa Kaew province has brought this issue back into the spotlight.

Justice Minister Paiboon said the government would follow up with further legal action against violators in the Rong Kluea market, which borders Cambodia, so that it would not escalate into a bigger problem like those affecting the Thai fisheries and other sectors.

Earlier, the European Union issued a yellow-card warning to Thailand citing IUU (illegal, unregulated and unreported) fishing practices. Thai exports of seafood will be affected if the country faces a ban due to the IUU problem. According to Paiboon, a foreign embassy had coordinated with the DSI to pursue the case involving counterfeit French perfumes on sale at the Rong Kluea market.

Sources said the Rong Kluea and Indochina markets are the two biggest outlets for fake and illegally-imported products on the Thai-Cambodian border with combined annual sales estimated to be in excess of Bt10 billion.

Paiboon said the ministry will enforce the law strictly and it is not necessary to resort to Article 44 of the interim charter at this stage. With a search warrant from the IP court, he added, DSI officials do not need to inform local authorities in advance before conducting raids.

A local source said most fake brand-name products for sale at the Rong Kluea market come from China via Cambodia. These products are popular among customers because they are much cheaper than the genuine items, according to the source, who added that there were about 10 major vendors in the Rong Kluea market, including Muay, a Cambodian who sells counterfeIt French perfumes and was arrested by DSI officials on Wednesday.

The source said while the value of trade on the Thai-Cambodian border is estimated to be around Bt50 billion to Bt60 billion annually, Thailand may face more significant economic damage if the IP law is not strictly enforced.