Pattaya Solicitors specialise in criminal law, and help clients on a daily basis in Thailand. If you’re looking for some information about criminal law in Thailand, please read below and call us immediately.
Criminal case is the case of fault and penalty definite in criminal code and other law code as Act which is criminal penalty.
Criminal penalty categorized in 5 are death, imprisonment, confinement, fine, and forfeiture of property.
Persons concern with criminal case:
-
- Alleged offender means a person who is alleged to have committed an offence but has not yet been charged in court.
- Accused means a person who has been charged in court with commit of an offence.
- Injured person means a person who has injured by any cause of an offence, including any other person who has power to act on behave such as juristic person proxy, legal proxy of minor, etc.
- Public prosecutor means an official whose duty is to prosecute an accused.
- Inquiry official means an official to be vested by law with the power and duty to conduct an inquiry, as police official rank from Police Captain or Police Captain equivalent or higher.
Normal criminal case procedure begins with an injured person reports to police officer by accusation of offender, and commit injured an injured person. On accusation, the injured person intends for the offender to be in penalty (called appeal).
Upon the police officer received the report shall inquire and investigate witnesses and evidences for case collection.
Upon inquiry official collected witnesses and evidences, summarizes inquiry collection and opinion with the inquiry collection.
In some case injured person may file lawsuit to the court directly.
2 periods of bail in the court
First period: When inquiry official or public prosecutor brings offender for court order of confinement and court permits for confinement that is considered that the offender is under court control.
Second period: When court accepts the charge from plaintiff, the offender is on state of the accused under confinement of court control.
In case a person intends provisional release for an offender or an accused shall apply request for provisional release during investigation or on trial, depending on case.
Period of court permission for bail
During investigation is equal to the period of court permission to confinement until charge or not charge the case.
During court trial bail contract is usable until court judgment or other court order.
Upon an alleged offender or an accused in confinement by court, the beneficiary is able to request for provisional release by justifying bail or personal bail.
Any question on bail shall ask from public relation official only.
The ways to practice upon court accepts the charge, in case the accused intends to defend:
- Court order for the accused confinement, the accused is able to apply for bail to the court, no matter the accused receive permission for bail in inquiry state or confinement state or not.
- Seek for attorney to help the accused in prosecution state.
- Verify preliminary examination, and plaintiff’s witnesses.
On trial state
- On trial and witness investigation in court shall be opened in the accused presence. The court reads and explains accusation to the accused, and ask whether the accused committed the offence or not, and write the accused testimony.
- In case the accused confess to the accusation, the court may testify at hearings not take more evidence of witness. On exception the case of imprisonment of more than 5 years penalty, or gravity punishment, the court shall take evidence of witnesses until satisfaction that the accused had committed the offence to adjudicate the accused.
- In case the accused denied, the court perform the plaintiff and the accused witness investigation. The court appoints for the plaintiff witness investigation, then appoint for the accused witness investigation. After all investigation, the court appoints for judgment hearings.
Plaintiff has duty to be presence on every appointment in court, in case not presence, the court shall dismiss the case. Except he court considers that the plaintiff has reasonable reason, the court shall order for imparlance. In case the accused not presence in court on appointment or on summons (in case the accused is in provisional release permission), the court shall issue a warrant of arrest to the accused and forfeit the beneficiary bail. In practical in case the court is not certain when to be able arrest the accused, the court shall temporary dispose of the case until the accused presence for judgment.
Witness investigation
In criminal case the plaintiff has duty to presence witnesses before the accused. Upon the plaintiff’s witness investigation finish, the accused’s witness shall presence for investigation. Before witness investigation, the plaintiff and accused have rights to state open the trial. After witness investigation, the plaintiff and accused have rights to state close the case.
On trial in case court considers for no further witness investigation or no further action, shall cease witness investigation or action. The court judgment may be case dismiss or punishment.
Punishments for inflicting upon the offenders are as follows:
- Death
- Imprisonment. The accused is imprisoned in jail. A day begun in imprisonment
shall be included also and shall be counted for a whole day, irrespective of the number of hours. If the period for calculation is determined in months, a month shall count for thirty days, and, if determined in years, it shall be calculated according to the official calendar. - Confinement. The accused shall be confines in a specified place, not jail, police
station, or the place for confinement inquiry official. - Fine. The accused must pay the money as determined by the judgment to the
Court. In case the accused is not able to pay within 30 days from the judgment day, the accused may be forfeit for the properties for the fine or be imprisoned for the fine. In case the court suspects that the accused may not pay for the fine, the court may order confinement for the accused for the fine. In case of the detention on lieu of fine, it shall be taken hold of rate of two hundred baht per one day. In case the accused was in confinement in prior, no matter on investigation or on trial, the court shall subtract the day of confinement from the days of confinement. - Forfeiture of property. A property used or possessed for use in commit of an offence by a person, or a property acquired by a person through commit of an offence, the court has power for forfeiture of property. Unless such property belongs to the other person who does not connive at commit of the offence, the real property’s owner may apply appeal to the court.
Court judgment shall be in document, except in civil court, the judgment may be verbal by accruable written note. The accused must presence for judgment hearings or court order on the day of court appointment, in case the accused not presence and the court has suspicious reason that the accused escapes or intends not to presence, the court shall issue a warrant of arrest for the accused. In case not find the accused to be presence to the court within one month from the day issue a warrant of arrest, the court may read judgment or court order in absentia of the accused and considered that the accused heard the judgment or court order.
If you have any questions, simply click on the chat bubble in the bottom right hand corner
or pick up the phone and call us right now on
+66 (38) 412-415 or 66 (81) 838-3869