More than 130 suspected Muslim Uighurs have escaped from shelters in Songkhla, according to the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, which expressed concern they could become victims of a human trafficking ring.
In March, 218 migrants claiming to have come from Turkey were arrested in Songkhla following a raid on a camp in the forest. Later, the Chinese embassy said they were Uighurs from northwestern China.
Of them, 195 Uighur women and children were sent to stay at the ministry's Songkhla Home for Children and Women and the Technical Promotion and Support Office Region 12. There were 70 adults, 73 girls and 52 boys.
The remaining men, meanwhile, were detained at immigration offices in several provinces.
As of Nov 6, up to 137 suspected Uighur migrants had fled the shelters, according to a report the Songkhla Home for Children and Women sent to the ministry, obtained by the Bangkok Post.
There have been eight instances of escape from the ministry's two shelters between July 1 and Nov 8. Some of them were found by authorities and taken back to the shelters.
Puttipat Lertchaowasit, director-general of the Department of Social Development and Welfare, said that suitable shelters or places should be provided to the migrants, no matter where they came from, according to humanitarian principles.
"We have allowed not only Muslim Uighurs, but also Rohingya and other groups, to stay temporarily in our shelters due to a scarcity of accommodation while they await the long legal process involved in identifying their nationalities and investigating connections to human trafficking," Mr Puttipat said.
"We have a responsibility to provide proper shelter, food, health care and leisure to the migrants," he added. "We have done our best, and we have to look after Thai cases such as teen mothers and homeless people at the same time."
A source said Thailand had not yet deported the suspected Uighurs because their nationalities had not been verified yet.
The source added there is international pressure against deporting them to China amid fears of persecution against them.
The Social Development and Human Security Ministry is working with the Immigration Bureau and police to search for the migrants, the source said.