Criminal Cases
“Criminal Case” refers to cases where the law prescribes a specific action as an offense and stipulates a punishment for it, such as the Penal Code and other laws like various royal enactments which prescribe criminal penalties. The punishments in criminal law encompass five categories: capital punishment (death penalty), imprisonment, confinement, fines, and confiscation of property.
Most criminal cases involve offenses related to life, body, property, and an individual’s reputation. Examples include assault, trespassing, cheque cases, fraud, theft, forgery, and defamation. They also encompass reporting grievances to investigative officers to initiate criminal proceedings.
To proceed with a criminal case, the accused or defendant can appoint a lawyer to file a lawsuit in court or report a complaint to the investigative officer.
Physically Harmed Case
Thailand Panel Code, Section 295: “Whoever, causes injury to the other person in body or mind is said to commit bodily harm, and shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding two years or fined not exceeding four thousand Baht, or both.”
When the victim has been physically harmed, which violates the said law, the lawyer will provide legal advice and offer various recommendations to gather facts, witnesses, and relevant evidence necessary to initiate a case against the offender. Depending on the situation, this might involve filing a lawsuit in court or reporting a complaint to the investigative officer. Moreover, the lawyer will also take legal action to claim damages according to the law for the said criminal case on behalf of the injured party.
Trespassing Case
According to the Thailand Penal Code, a trespassing case has an offense and stipulates a punishment as follows:
Section 362: “Whoever, entering into the immovable property belonging to the other person so as to take possession of such property in whole or in any part or entering into such property to do any act disturbing the peaceful possession of such person, shall be imprisoned not out of one year or fined not out of two thousand Baht, or both.”
Section 363: “Whoever, so as to take hold of the immovable property belonging to the other person for oneself or the third person, removing or destroying the boundary mark or such property in whole or in any party, shall be imprisoned not out of three years or fined not out of six thousand Baht, or both.”
Section 364: “Whoever, without reasonable cause, enters or hides himself in a dwelling place, store-houseor office under the possession of the other person, or refuses to leave such place after having been told to do so by the person having the right to forbid him from entering, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding one year or fined not exceeding two thousand Baht, or both.”
Section 365: “If the offence under Section 362, Section 363 or Section 364 be committed:
By an act of violence or threat to commit an act of violence;
By a person carrying arms or by two persons upwards pa participating; or
By night, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding five years or fined not exceeding ten thousand Baht, or both. ”
Section 366: “The offenses in this Chapter, excepting the offence under Section 365, are compoundable offences.”
From the aforementioned provisions, it can be seen that besides Section 365, the offenses related to trespassing in other sections are considered compoundable offenses. Victims of such offenses have the right to appoint a lawyer to file a lawsuit in court directly, or they can report a complaint to the investigative officer, with a lawyer representing them in the same manner.
Cheque Case
OFFENCES RELATED TO THE ISSUANCE OF CHEQUES ACT, B.E. 2534 (1991), Section 4: “Any person who issues a cheque to pay for a real and legally enforceable debt involving any of the following characteristics or acts shall be considered to have committed an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding sixty thousand baht or to imprisonment for not more than one year, or both if the cheque is lawfully presented for payment and if the bank does not honour such cheque. The natures or acts are:
(1) with an intention not to honour such cheque;
(2) with no funds in the account that can be used to honour the cheque at the time of issuing the cheque;
(3) to make payment in an amount higher than the amount of available funds in the account at the time of issuing such cheque;
(4) withdrawing the entire or partial amount of money in the account that is to be used to honour the cheque to the extent that the remainder of the money is insufficient to cover the cheque;
(5) dishonestly directing the bank not to honour such cheque.
When the cheque is lawfully presented for payment, if the bank refuses to pay such cheque, the drawer is considered to commit an offence, and shall be sentenced to a fine not exceeding sixty thousand baht or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.”
Since a bounced cheque case is considered a compoundable offense, filing a lawsuit in court or reporting a complaint to an investigative officer must be carried out within three months from the date the cheque was declined for payment. The attorney will gather evidence relating to the debt for which the cheque was issued, the original cheque itself, and will take the necessary legal actions to ensure that the aggrieved party receives the amount promised by the cheque and/or that the offender faces legal consequences.
Cheating and Fraud Case
The Thailand Penal Code, Section 341: “Whoever, dishonestly deceives a person with the assertion of a falsehood or the concealment of the facts which should be revealed, and, by such deception, obtains a property from the person so deceived or a third person, or causes the person so deceived or a third person to execute, revoke or destroy a document of right, is said to commit the offence of cheating and fraud, and shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding three years or fined not exceeding six thousand Baht, or both.”
Section 342: “If the offence of cheating and fraud be committed:
(1) By the offender showing himself to be another person; or
(2) By taking advantage of the lack of intelligence of the deceived person who is a child, or by taking advantage of weakness of mind of the deceived person,
The offender shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding five years or fined not exceeding ten thousand Baht, or both.”
Section 343: “If the offence under Section 341 be committed by the assertion of a falsehood to the public or by the concealment of the facts which should be revealed to the public, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding five years or fined not exceeding ten thousand Baht, or both.
If the offence mentioned in the first paragraph be committed under the circumstances mentioned in any sub-section of Section 342 also, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to seven years and fined of one thousand to fourteen thousand Baht.”
Section 348: “The offences in this Chapter excepting the offence under Section 343 are compoundable offences.”
From the aforementioned provisions, it can be observed that apart from the offense under Section 343, the offense of fraud, as defined in other sections within this category, is considered a compoundable offense. To initiate a lawsuit, one must act within 3 months from the date of becoming aware of the incident and identifying the offender. Similarly, a complaint must be reported to an investigative officer within 3 months of knowing about the incident and recognizing the offender. If not, the case becomes statute-barred, and the right to legally proceed is extinguished. Therefore, victims deceived, concealed from, or lost assets due to fraudulent offenses should consult an attorney promptly to take timely legal actions. Otherwise, they may lose their legal rights.
Misappropriation Case
In misappropriation case, the Thailand Penal Code has stipulated as follows:
Section 352: “Whoever, being in possession of a property belonging to the other person, or of which the other person is a co-owner, dishonestly converts such property to himself or a third person, is said to commit misappropriation, and shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding three years or fined not exceeding six thousand Baht, or both.
If such property comes under the possession of the offender on account of being delivered to him by the other person by mistake by any means whatever, or being a lost property found by him, the offender shall be liable to one-half of the punishment.”
Section 353: “Whoever, to be entrusted to manage the other person’s property or property which the other person to be the co-owner, dishonestly to do any a ct contrary to oneself duty by any means whatever, up to cause the danger to the benefit on account of being the property of such other person, shall be imprisoned not out of three years or fined not out of six thousand Baht, or both.”
Section 354: “If the offence under Section 352 or Section 353 be committed by the offender in the status of being an executor or administrator of the property of the other person under the order of the Court or under a will, or in the status of being a person having an occupation or business of public trust, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding five years or fined not exceeding ten thousand Baht, or both”
Section 355: “Whoever, to have found the valuable movable property to be hidden or buried under the circumstances of which no person claim to be the owner, to have converted such property for oneself or the other person, shall be imprisoned not out of one year or fined not out of two thousand Baht, or both.”
Section 356: “The offences in this Chapter are compoundable offences”
From the aforementioned provisions, it can be seen that the Misappropriation Case is considered a compoundable offense. Therefore, filing a lawsuit in court or reporting a complaint to an investigative officer within three months from the date the victim knows the offender’s wrongful acts and who the offender is. Moreover, the Misappropriation case is an offense of property, and the victim will have the right to reclaim their property or prices from the offender.
Forgery of Documents Case
The offenses related to forgery of documents, title deeds, and official documents, as well as the use or reference to such documents, are considered legal violations pertaining to documents and are subject to varying criminal penalties under the law. Those harmed by such actions have the right to take legal action against the offender by filing a lawsuit through an appointed attorney or reporting the matter to an investigative officer. The attorney has the duty to provide legal advice on case proceedings and to gather evidence on behalf of the client. The offenses concerning documents are legislated under the Thailand Penal Code as follows:
Section 264: “Whoever, in a manner likely to cause injury to another person or the public, fabricates a false document or part of a document, or adds to, takes from or otherwise alters a genuine document by any means whatever, or puts a false seal or signature to a document, if it is committed in order to make any person to believe that it is a genuine document, is said to forge a document, and shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding three years or fined not exceeding six thousand Baht, or both.
Whoever, fills in the contents on a sheet of paper or any other material bearing the signature of another person without the consent or by violating the order of such person, if it has committed in order to take such document for use in any activities which may cause injury to any person or the public, shall be deemed to forge a document, and shall be punished likewise.”
Section 265: “Whoever, forges a document of right or official document, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to five years and fined of one thousand to ten thousand Baht.”
Section 266: “Whoever forges any of the following documents:
(1) A document of right, which is an official document;
(2) A will;
(3) A share certificate or debenture, or share warrant or debenture warrant;
(4) A bill; or
(5) A negotiable certificate of deposit
shall be punished with imprisonment of one to ten years and fined of twenty thousand to two hundred thousand Baht.”
Section 268: “Whoever, in a manner likely to cause injury to another person or the public, makes use of, or cites the document begotten from the commission of the offence according to Section 264, Section 265, Section 266 or Section 267, shall be liable to the punishment as provided in such Section.
If the offender according to the first paragraph be the person who himself forges such document, or causes an official to make such entry, such offender shall be punished according to this Section for one count only.”
Defamation Case
Defamation Case, under the Thailand Penal Code, is considered a compoundable offense. The victim must file a lawsuit in court or report the matter to an investigative officer within 3 months from the date they become aware of the incident and the offender’s identity. Otherwise, the case will become statute-barred. Since defamation can harm the victim’s reputation and might lead to them being maligned by others, the victim has the right to claim damages under the law from the offender. The Thailand Penal Code stipulates the significant provisions concerning defamation offenses as follows:
Section 326: “Whoever, imputes anything to the other person before a third person in a manner likely to impair the reputation of such other person or to expose such other person to be hated or scorned, is said to commit defamation, and shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding one year or fined not exceeding twenty thousand Baht, or both.”
Section 328: “If the offence of defamation be committed by means of publication of a document, drawing, painting, cinematography film, picture or letters made visible by any means, gramophone record or another recording instruments, recording picture or letters, or by broadcasting or spreading picture, or by propagation by any other means, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding two years and fined not exceeding two hundred thousand Baht.”
Section 329: “Whoever, in good faith, expresses any opinion or statement:
(1) By way of self-justification or defense, or for the protection of a legitimate interest;
(2) In the status of being an official in the exercise of his functions;
(3) By way of fair comment on any person or thing subjected to public criticism; or
(4) By way of fair report of the open proceeding of any Court or meeting, shall not be guilty of defamation.”
Section 333: “The offences in this Chapter are compoundable offences. If the injured person in the defamation dies before making a complaint, the father, mother, spouse or child of the deceased may make a complaint, and it shall be deemed that such person is the injured person.”
Other Criminal Cases
Apart from the aforementioned criminal offenses, there are numerous other charges or bases of criminal liability. These offenses can be found in the Criminal Code and other laws that define particular wrongs and prescribe criminal penalties. Examples include the Computer-related Crime Act, the Business Development Act, the Personal Data Protection Act, and the Building Control Act, among others.