Mong Thongdee, a stateless man who grabbed headlines when he won a national paper plane contest nine years ago when he was 12, is finally close to achieving his dream of gaining Thai citizenship.
The 21-year-old on Tuesday submitted a letter asking the Royal Thai Police Office Criminal Records Division for a records check, after Muang district authorities in Chiang Mai province handed him a letter seeking one as part of the procedure in seeking Thai citizenship.
Police helped him complete the form. He then had his fingerprints taken.
Pol Col Assanee Intharakhanchit, the division superintendent, said Mr Mong's fingerprints would be run through the RTPO's database, to see if he had been involved in any crime. The process normally took about five working days.
Mr Mong, born to a family of Myanmar migrant workers in Chiang Mai, expressed his delight that his dream of Thai citizenship would finally be granted after nine years of waiting.
He had not previously submitted a request personally, causing a delay in the process, he said.
He thanked everyone for their encouragement and also expressed his pride at being chosen to represent Thailand in a paper plane contest in Japan next year. He hoped to have his citizenship before he competes.
In the meantime, he would focus on fine tuning his paper plane folding and flying skills, and would do his best at the contest.
He was promised citizenship by government officials and politicians at the time, but the promises were not acted on.
On Monday, Mr Mong competed in the championship again for the first time in almost 10 years and won it in the general individual category at Muang Thong Thani.
He will now represent Thailand in an international paper plane competition in Japan next year.
