My 18 year old British son on a tourist visa (due to leave Thailand in 4 days)  has been caught with a small amount of cannabis and has been taken to a police station - he has to pay 49000 baht to get bail and they have his passport. His friend has the money and they say they will release him when it is paid and an interpreter has been. Aside from contacting the embassy which I have done is there anything else I can do? Any advice gratefully received, any ideas as to the likely outcome? I cannot believe he could be so stupid 

Stupid, Yes, but there is a fair chance someone working for the cops sold it to him and set him up. Plenty of time to bawl him out when he gets home. Bail will be 10,000 at the court. Cops are trying to fleece him and they will keep the 49,000 if you give it to them and probably come sniffing for more. The fine at court is 2,500 for possession. However that will be for a guilty plea after 48 days, that being the time for the prosecutor to bring it to court.

If he has to leave in four days, then sadly it will cost a lot more than the statutory amounts.

Do NOT wave too much cash in the early stages. He should plead poverty and try to bring the amount down.

Ok thank you - I will try and get a message to him

17 minutes ago, Mum2 said:

is there anything else I can do?

Have him pay the 49000 as requested,  plead to the police that he has to leave in 4 days and hope to hell they don't request more. 

Drugs are always trouble.

16 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Have him pay the 49000 as requested,  plead to the police that he has to leave in 4 days and hope to hell they don't request more. 

Drugs are always trouble.

Thank you - just spoken to him and another chap in the cell with him who had no passport has just been taken off somewhere else! 

Just make sure he doesn't sign anything, unless it's written in English..

That could end up very badly if not careful.

If he had more time, he could wait the cops out and just plead guilty to possession of a small amount. As above, not such a big fine.

Time critical, it's gonna cost for sure...

Thank you - I will tell him that - should I get him a lawyer? 

Your hands are tied as to what you or he can do. Basically he'll be told the process and whats needed, but he can plead that he has to leave in 4 days ... not sure they will listen though.

good luck.

Should offer the cops 20k now and 25k when he's outside the police station with his passport in his hand...

Lawyer just going to cost and confuse things even more...

Ok - apparently there is no one at the police station at all to speak to. I am worried this will be considered bribery and that makes things worse. Thank you for your comments 

4 minutes ago, Mum2 said:

I am worried this will be considered bribery and that makes things worse.

 

Of course it's bribery... That's how the Thai police make a living.

They probably paid someone to report to them any tourists buying weed too.

It's standard money making ploy on the islands !!

18 minutes ago, Mum2 said:

Thank you - I will tell him that - should I get him a lawyer? 

Follow the advice of the Embassy on this point, it may just be a very expensive waste of time.

I agree the 49,000 is an under the table payment which if possible should be avoided, the court bail fee will be minimal - if he can he should sit it out rather than pay, ultimately the penalty should be quite small.

2 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Follow the advice of the Embassy on this point, it may just be a very expensive waste of time.

Thank you the embassy said to wait until they had made contact with the police station but apparently the police are not answering the phone! 

11 minutes ago, Mum2 said:

Ok - apparently there is no one at the police station at all to speak to. I am worried this will be considered bribery and that makes things worse. Thank you for your comments 

 

it is probably bribery but that's how things work here and while the country suffers from the negative effects of corruption it, sadly, could be said to be a positive thing for those committing crimes and who have the money to avoid prosecution.

 

your son is in an alien cultural environment and not in a strong bargaining position so to be honest i'd try to bargain the price down but have a fall back position of paying the full amount and just getting him out of there and home.

2 minutes ago, Mum2 said:

but apparently the police are not answering the phone!

 

It's the weekend :)

Just now, Mum2 said:

Thank you the embassy said to wait until they had made contact with the police station but apparently the police are not answering the phone! 

I personally would not rush out and hire a lawyer at this stage, I seriously doubt that one will be needed. There is a process that the police and the court will go through and they will do so in their own good time, hiring a lawyer at this stage almost certainly won't change the outcome and may not change the timescale very much either - be aware that most lawyers here will milk this financially because a foreigner is involved..

3 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

it is probably bribery but that's how things work here and while the country suffers from the negative effects of corruption it, sadly, could be said to be a positive thing for those committing crimes and who have the money to avoid prosecution.

 

your son is in an alien cultural environment and not in a strong bargaining position so to be honest i'd try to bargain the price down but have a fall back position of paying the full amount and just getting him out of there and home.

There are certainly merits to what you suggest, it all depends on whether the family is willing to pay. The quick, expensive way out or the slower cheap option is what it boils down to.

Just now, simoh1490 said:

There are certainly merits to what you suggest, it all depends on whether the family is willing to pay. The quick, expensive way out or the slower cheap option is what it boils down to.

I just want him out of there and on his way home so I can yell at him for being so stupid, but I am so worried that I that I may make things worse by paying what amounts to a bribe. Thank you all for trying to help 

Just to put this in perspective, paying a bribe to the police is against the law but so is demanding payment that is not a fine, both, however, are commonplace everyday actions here.

7 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Just to put this in perspective, paying a bribe to the police is against the law but so is demanding payment that is not a fine, both, however, are commonplace everyday actions here.

They are saying the 49000 is for bail - from what this forum says bail can only be set by the courts? They know his friend has the 49k but had already put him in a cell before they got it from the bank - it took a while to sort. I guess he just needs to wait until a police officer returns and he can try and pay? Are they likely to give his passport back at this point does anyone know? And should he ask for the embassy to be contacted??  

20 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

There are certainly merits to what you suggest, it all depends on whether the family is willing to pay. The quick, expensive way out or the slower cheap option is what it boils down to.

 

I'm not claiming to have any specialized knowledge, but I would point out that it's a little over 1,000 GBP, and it is the Thai remand system, which doesn't have a stellar reputation.  I'd focus on what's effective at getting the kid home, not how to save money.

 

Thank you - that is what I would like to do. I am not made of money in any shape or form but at this stage I am willing to try anything ?

4 minutes ago, Mum2 said:

They are saying the 49000 is for bail - from what this forum says bail can only be set by the courts? They know his friend has the 49k but had already put him in a cell before they got it from the bank - it took a while to sort. I guess he just needs to wait until a police officer returns and he can try and pay? Are they likely to give his passport back at this point does anyone know? And should he ask for the embassy to be contacted??  

I'm at the limit of my knowledge on this now, my belief is that only the court can set bail, even if the police can set bail the figure seems far too high compared to what I've seen bail declared at for other offences. I also can't say whether the money paid to the police would bring an end to the matter and see his passport returned, it might be that it doesn't but I really don't know. 

 

The most helpful thing I can say I think is to follow the Embassy's lead, even if it does take a little while.

 

 

PAY  as fast as u can, the longer u leave it, the more people involved that need to make a % of the fine.

 

BAIL to the police means  "pay us and leave"

DONT involve a lawyer!!  Price will go up

Thank you - the issue seems to be there is no one at the police station to pay!!! 

shift change,,,,as soon as he sees an officer tell him to speak softly and nice to him and say he is ready to pay...
DONT sign anything

as soon as he is released leave town

Just screen shot your message and sent it to him. Thank you for your advice all. 

Please let us know what happens, it will be useful for others in the future.

As said police request for 49K Bail is , really pay us the money and off you go!

 

The Thai police force is not a recognized police force as in the western world more  like a criminal mafia, in reality they probably sold the stuff to you son

So pay up  get passport back as exchange for cash nothing in writing  and GO!