Why Jumping Out of a Thai Police Station Window Is a Terrible Bail Plan

In a story that recently made headlines in Thailand, a suspect under investigation for fraud attempted a dramatic escape by jumping out of a second-story window at the Pattaya police station. According to a report by the Bangkok Post, the 38-year-old Chinese man had been taken into custody and was being held for questioning when he took advantage of a brief moment of inattention. Without warning, he ran toward an open window and leaped out—disappearing before officers could respond. While he initially managed to evade capture, his freedom was short-lived. He was later found and apprehended in Chanthaburi Province.

This incident, while certainly sensational, is also a clear example of what not to do when facing criminal charges in Thailand. Attempting to flee police custody—especially by launching oneself from a second-story window—adds layers of legal and personal complications. At best, it delays the inevitable. At worst, it can result in injury, new charges, and increased scrutiny from authorities. While it may sound like something out of an action movie, the consequences are all too real.

Defendants Seeking International Bail in Thailand

At the beginning of 2025, Thailand’s Criminal Court granted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra permission to travel abroad. The cases of Thaksin are well-known in Thailand and beyond, but understanding how it can relate to a defendant in Thailand may not be obvious. There are indeed stringent conditions under which Thai courts may allow individuals facing legal proceedings to leave the country, and this can help you too.

The Case at Hand

Thaksin Shinawatra, facing charges including lese-majeste and computer crimes, requested court approval to attend an ASEAN meeting in Malaysia. The court permitted this travel on the condition that he posted a 5-million-baht cash surety, reported back within three days of his return, and notified the Immigration Bureau upon re-entry. This marked his first approved international trip since returning from exile in August 2023.

Understanding International Bail in Thailand

International bail is typically granted under exceptional circumstances. Defendants must provide compelling reasons for travel, such as medical emergencies, critical business obligations, or significant family events. Courts assess these requests meticulously, considering factors like the nature of the charges, flight risk, and the defendant’s history of compliance with legal proceedings.

Bail in Thailand 2020: Bail on the Weekends

In what is probably the biggest change the rules on bail in Thailand, the president of the Supreme Court recently announced that bail can now be applied for on weekends. Thailand Bail can confirm that this new rule, announced on 25 December 2019, is now in force at the courts around Thailand. Thailand Bail just managed the successful bail applications for two foreigners who were arrested for drug cases in Koh Phangan and sent to the Koh Samui Provincial Court. Under the old rules, we would have had to wait until Monday to file our bail paperwork, but with the new rule, we were able to file our bail documents on Saturday, and both people were released the same day. 

Thailand Bail Achieves Positive Result in Court in Under 1 Week

Thailand Bail recently got a very positive result for a criminal case involving a foreign defendant in the Samut Prakarn Provincial Court in Samut Prakarn, Thailand, charged with violating the Firearms Act of Thailand. This case was very challenging for our lawyers and interpreters, since we needed to accomplish a positive decision in a very short amount of time. Faced with the challenge of time constraints, we worked overtime and through the weekend to complete all work.

The 3 Things You Must Do If You Get Arrested in Thailand

Our blog post for March 2019 is one that has been requested by many people, so we decided to focus on the 3 things you must do if you get arrested in Thailand. We often tell people that no one plans to get arrested in Thailand, but sometimes things happen. For example, we recently came across a foreigner who had been arrested with his friend for stealing a mobile phone, even though he claimed he had picked it up thinking it was his. A Thai citizen who we recently helped had been over a friend’s house for a visit when the police came in and arrested everyone for some methamphetamine they found on the premises. In Thailand, the Thai police often like to charge accused people jointly, or “ruam-gan” in Thai – to jointly commit a crime. This does not mean that you were caught in the act of doing anything illegal, but it just means that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time in many cases. Getting arrested in Thailand is a stressful event, so we advise you do the following 3 things as quickly as possible. 

Money Laundering, Drug Dealing, and Bail: The Case of Benz Racing

In today’s Thailand Bail news posting, we focus on one of the most famous Thai cases of the past year – Benz Racing. Benz Racing, formally known as Akarakit Worarojcharoendet, was just freed on bail, after beating a charge related to drug trafficking but being convicted of money laundering. Benz Racing got eight (8) years for money laundering, which was on the more severe end of the possible ten (10) years in prison for the charge of money laundering. Had Benz Racing been convicted of supporting drug trafficking, he would have likely gotten twenty (20) years in prison, as did his two co-defendants in this case. The case was even more challenging, considering the infamous Laotian drug trafficker Xaysana was involved in the case, with Benz Racing allegedly laundering proceeds from the sale of drugs from Xaysana’s drug empire. The reason Read more

How to Get Out of Koh Samui Prison – Thailand Bail Successful Again

Do you have a friend or family member who is in prison in Koh Samui? If so, contact Thailand Bail to discuss how we can help. Just last week, Thailand Bail’s lawyers in Koh Samui successfully bailed out an Australian citizen who had already spent a couple of weeks locked up in the Koh Samui Prison. Once we received the name of the accused person, we jumped to action by checking the details of the accused person and confirming the case number, charges, location of the accused person, and all other details. Thailand Bail is dedicated to helping people in need, so we offered to do this preliminary work pro bono – for free. Read more

Thailand Bail Success: How Thailand Bail Was Able to Bail Out 2 Defendants When Others Could Not

As you have been reading Thailand Bail’s other posts and success stories, you have seen that Thailand Bail specializes in taking on difficult and challenging criminal cases in Bangkok, Koh Samui, Udon Thani, and the rest of Thailand. Our success story today is taken from a case we just completed after a challenging situation presented to us in the Koh Samui Provincial Court. Two defendants had been in the Koh Samui Prison for over 1 month when they hired a different lawyer based in Bangkok to handle their bail. The charge they had was collectively committing theft, as well as being in Thailand illegally. For Thailand Bail, this is a fairly routine and straightforward bail case, which we could have taken care of quickly. However, the other lawyer failed to bail out the two defendants Read more

Thailand Bail Manages Cases in Samut Prakarn

The lawyers at Thailand Bail are some of the hardest working in Thailand, managing cases in several provinces throughout the country. This means that we have a network of professional connections in almost every part of Thailand. Whilst we currently manage several cases in Bangkok, we also have a long history working on matters involving the police and the courts in surrounding provinces such as Samut Prakarn. Finding an international law firm in Samut Prakarn is challenging, but we are eager to assist in all legal matters in Samut Read more

Thailand Bail Wishes Our Clients and Partners a Happy New Year 2018

As we come to the end of 2017, Thailand Bail reflects on the year that was 2017. We would like to wish all of our past clients in 2017, as well as our current clients going into 2018 together with us, a happy new year 2018. 2017 was a successful year for the firm, having won several huge criminal cases in the courts of Bangkok, Pattaya, Buriram, Udon Thani, and Phuket, amongst others. 2017 also saw a significant crackdown on immigration issues, particularly automatic blacklisting for even 1 day of overstay, if not self-reported. This has presented a challenge to foreigners who would have normally let a few days of overstay slip, as a matter of convenience or cost. 2017 also saw our firm expand into Cambodia for the first time, representing a well-known defendant there. Thailand Bail looks forward to another successful year in 2018, assisting both foreign and Thai defendants and plaintiffs manage their criminal cases, immigration Read more