Bail in Thailand in the News

Occasionally, bail in Thailand makes it into the popular news. This has been one of those times in Thailand, as the country recently experienced another military coup. One of the first actions of the Thai army was to detain over 100 politicians, reporters, and academics. Several of the people who were detained included ex-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, and ex-Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng. While Suthep was granted bail last week, Chaturon’s bail was denied. This difference leads to interesting conversation about how uniformly bail is accepted in Thailand. While most of the people we work with are not politicians or education ministers, bail in Thailand has an interest way of being accepted or Read more

Visiting the Pattaya Court

The Thailand Bail legal team is frequently at the Pattaya Provincial Court, working on criminal defense cases for our clients. Our Pattaya lawyer team is very familiar with the criminal process in Pattaya, and we are currently working on several cases there.

For those who plan to visit the Pattaya Court, there are a few things to take note of, especially when it comes to visitation. If you are planning to visit the Pattaya Court, or if you are looking for a lawyer in Pattaya, it is integral to know a few things before going.

If you have a friend or family member who is scheduled to appear at the Pattaya Court, you can visit them while they wait to appear in the court room. As is the case with most courts in Thailand, there is a holding cell under the court where prisoners are held before and after they appear before the judge. However, if an accused person is out on bail, or has otherwise been released Read more

Bail in Thailand: The Importance of the Bail Appeal

In this article, we want to discuss the importance of the bail appeal, a process that is not known to many Thai lawyers. For those Thai lawyers who do know about bail appeals in Thai courts, they often do not tell their clients about this, because the bail appeal involves a lot of research and writing on the part of the Thai lawyer team. A typical bail appeal that the Thailand Bail legal team writes can easily be more than 6 pages in length.

The bail appeal is like a mini-trial before the trial. If you have had any experience in the Thai court system, you will know how long it can take for a case to go to trial. The length of time from arrest to the judge handing down the final verdict can be anywhere from 9 months to 12 months, depending on the case and the number of times it is postponed. Instead of waiting for 9 – 12 months, Thailand Bail recommends applying for bail as soon as possible. For difficult cases involving foreigners, the first court sometimes rejects bail. However, Thailand Bail has been Read more

Thailand Bail on Thai TV Channel MCOT

Thailand Bail was invited to appear on well-known Thai TV channel MCOT to discuss how to post bail in Thailand as well as other topics related to being a law firm active in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket. Having a Thai lawyer as well as an international case specialist present for this interview was very helpful for the TV show’s hosts and the TV audience watching at home to better understand the complex legal environment in Thailand. The interview was given a prominent place in the program, airing as an entire quarter of the 1-hour show. The show frequently asks experts like the Thai lawyers at Thailand Bail to come on to the show and give great information in English on important matters for expatriates and foreign visitors in Thailand. The viewers of MCOT Channel received the benefit of free legal consultation from experts in Thailand, and Thailand Bail saw an increase in interested clients because of the TV show Read more

Thailand Bail Legal Team Wins in Bangkok Court

Thailand Bail was in the Southern Criminal Court of Thailand on 08 August 2013 for the sentencing of two of our clients, an American citizen and a Malaysian national. Our legal team in Bangkok had been doing much preparatory work in the weeks leading up to the judge reading the sentence, so we were able to predict the outcome of the judge’s ruling. Each of our clients in this case were facing up to four (4) years in Thai prison as well as a fine of 40,000 Thai baht ($1,300 USD). In addition to this, our clients had already confessed to the crime. We were faced with a challenging situation, especially since our clients were foreigners. However, due to weeks of hard work, our clients received a suspended sentence (no jail time) and a small fine. The fine was deducted from their bail money, and the Bangkok court allowed them to Read more

Locating Your Passport or ID Card Before and After Bail

If you have worked with our team of Bangkok lawyers before, you know that part of their job is to locate your passport. This might seem simple, but locating the passport of someone who has been arrested in Thailand can be tricky. Being able to get your passport back may be a requirement to post bail in Thailand, depending on what court has jurisdiction over your case. There are a few different places where your passport might be, and knowing these will help us locate it. At the time of your arrest, your passport may have been taken by the arresting officer on your case. This does not mean that he has it; in fact, we almost never see cases where the arresting Thai police officer has an accused person’s passport. Usually, the arresting officer will hand over the passport along with other evidence

Thai Prisons Are Overcrowded, According to News Report

SUMMARY

Police Colonel Khun Suchart Wongananchai recently reported to the media that the Department of Corrections is in need of more civil servants. Staff have been hired to fill vacancies, but the majority of these workers are temporary. In addition, many of the officer positions have been filled with privileged inmates who often carry out much of the work in and around a prison.

Khun Suchart indicated that the current number of civil servants was 11,000 thousand. Read more