Caught with cannabis in the islands

[watcharacters]

11 hours 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 

 

 

Sorry but if my son or daughter, I would be on next plane to be with them and give all support possible.

 

Sorry if you've posted financial constraints  previously.

 

I wish for the best outcome.

 

 

[metisdead]

Inflammatory posts and the replies have been removed.  

 

It would be better to read the topic to understand what has transpired rather than jump in and make unhelpful information.

[PoorSucker]

8 hours ago, Mum2 said:

Thank you - I am hopeful it is sorted in a month he is concerned it may be nearer 2. The interpreter who is apparently a volunteer read him the paperwork (I guess this maybe the fixer - is it worth a conversation with him? He is the one my son has to contact every 12 days to say where he is). I am concerned he needs his passport to get a criminal extension visa from another island and he doesn’t have it. ) what a mess? 

The public procesuter on Koh Samui might need some incentive to get the case to go to court early, I have been volunteering for this kind of stuff before.

3000 baht to the procesuter might make the case go priority on Monday. 

Yes, definitely worth a conversation with the fixer. 

 

[gamesgplayemail]

Hello Mum, I hope that you are fine.

 

I know many people who have been caught for weed or more, and by many I really mean many. so you can trust me.

 

Nobody goes to jail for weed nowadays, and the worst that will happen is a 3000 baht fine and then deportation, but most of the time there is no deportation and/or blacklist. It never happened to anybody I knew.

 

When paying the 49000 thb, he should have told them that he was ok to pay if they gave his passport back and if he could leave. But it's too late now, and anyway, there are stories on KohTao, the worst place of whole Thailand where to be caught, that even after the court case, cops didn't want to free someone until he paid them 50000 (even when the court only asked 2000), so no regret, you lost the money anyway, and it won't cost a lot more. Just few thousands more at the court.

 

In my opinion and based on previous cases, he will be free after few days (court case) and won't be deported/blacklisted. Do not worry, he will be fine. Please just confirm after the court.

 

Wishing you the best !

 

[Just Weird]

21 hours ago, hobz said:

yes, but he will need to leave clean urine samples every month for like 6 months and then he will get the bail back. at least this is what happened to a thai friend on yaba.

If he meets he requirement of the court or police, whoever grants the bail, then he will get the bail back when the case is over.  This is a tourist who will not be here in 6 months not one of your yaba-addicted Thai friends.  I do not believe that bail refunds can be withheld until 6 months of clear urine tests have been completed after a case has finished.  It's either over or it isn't.  If what you say about your friend is accurate then he was probably on bail for that whole period.

Edited February 25, 2018 by Just Weird

[KKr]

On 2/24/2018 at 9:24 AM, 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??  

first of all, bail is a sum of money paid to the office in the courthouse against receipt.
Indeed the court sets the amount.
It is returned after showing up in court.
49.000 sounds like a lot of bail to me for a minor offence.a
He would be let out of the lock-up after payment.
( I assume he is not in jail at this stage but at the court house or police station)
I understand that the passport would be kept at the courthouse.
There is a reporting routine also, if you miss the report, the bail is gone and the suspect goes on the wanted list.
During that period, sometimes a court hearing is held, don't miss it, where police asks for adjournment to gather more evidence.

The logistics of a court session itself and how long you'd have to wait I cannot comment on.
In some cases, so I heard, during lock up stay outrageous demands are said to have been made,
even though the case is dropped two weeks later because of lack of evidence or proof.(and bail subsequently returned)

What you should consider also however, is that it is not good to have a criminal record. 
Makes life not easier, difficulties going to work for police, army, civil service, as a lawyer, security guard, etc.

In any case, be happy that it is cannabis and not some of the heavy stuff.
A yelling match is not likely to help straightening him out though, but you'll need some close guidance of friends, habits, to keep him in the soft stuff circuit.
In any case, it will be a good lesson for a youngster who obviously is not mature enough to be let out of the country alone.

If you want to try to make a deal out of court, get a local involved.
Consular officer can tell you names of known (and trusted) lawyers.
If you do offer money yourself, that may be used against you.

Edited February 25, 2018 by KKr
oops, seems I missed a few pages of comments overnight ...

[Just Weird]

21 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

 

 

everyone in jail here in thailand has a prison account.in Phuket you just visit the jail and say u wish to have xxx baht placed in the prisoners holding account which he can use for whatever inside

Yes, I know that from personal experience and I also know that he cannot use that account for "whatever", the prisoners never have cash.

 

The comment I responded to was about having cash that could be shared with others and used to make life easier in police custody before bail was granted in this specific case.  Having a prison account (that does not allow the prisoner to share money with or give to other prisoners or buy favours with, it can only be used to buy personal requirements from official prison sources) and having cash are two very different things!

[MyFriend You]

On 2/24/2018 at 7:54 AM, harrry said:

It would be very rare for a trial to be heard in 48 hrs, 

Tell him to be well dressed, clean with a good haircut and wear trousers and a shirt with a collar when he goes to court.  It is important here.

and learn how to Wai correctly.

[simoh1490]

Some more theoretical observations represented as fact and posted before reading the entire thread. I trust the OP is not too confused or upset by them all and has a fairly clear picture of where things are - which I think is in a good position but probably involves a bit of a wait.

Edited February 25, 2018 by simoh1490

[harrry]

It is best if he does not wai. Most foreigners make too many errors and all that is required is  that you act in a polite manner.  

[JTXR]

Mum2,  Please consider that you are getting a lot of advice, much of it contradictory, from many people, people you don't know, people who don't give advice under their own real names, people whose history and reliability you can't know, and people who are under no obligation to be accountable for the advice they give.
Contrast that to advice you get from your embassy, from people whose names and titles you will know and who are obligated to be responsible for what they tell you.
I'm not telling you what to do, of course.  Just a word to the wise.

Edited February 25, 2018 by JTXR

[jackdd]

19 minutes ago, JTXR said:

Contrast that to advice you get from your embassy, from people whose names and titles you will know and who are obligated to be responsible for what they tell you.

You may know their names, but they won't be responsible for anything

And of course the embassy will only give hints regarding the legal ways, but in a corrupt country like thailand that's not necessarily the best

Edited February 25, 2018 by jackdd

[007 RED]

1 hour ago, JTXR said:

Mum2,  Please consider that you are getting a lot of advice, much of it contradictory, from many people, people you don't know, people who don't give advice under their own real names, people whose history and reliability you can't know, and people who are under no obligation to be accountable for the advice they give.
Contrast that to advice you get from your embassy, from people whose names and titles you will know and who are obligated to be responsible for what they tell you.
I'm not telling you what to do, of course.  Just a word to the wise.

Sorry JTXR not wishing to sound critical, but Embassy staff are extremely limited in what they can say and do in the situation which Mum2’s son has found himself in.  I suggest that you take a moment to look at the British Embassy website – Help if you’re arrested abroad https://www.gov.uk/help-if-you-are-arrested-abroad/y/thailand

 

If you click onto the link (part the way down the page) that takes you to English speaking lawyers and translators, the Embassy makes a number of declaimers which absolves it of any responsibility for bad information or advice that you may receive from any of the lawyers listed.

 

Please draw your own conclusions as to how much help they can give.  The same will fundamentally apply to most other Embassies.

[steven100]

On 2/24/2018 at 4:45 PM, phuketrichard said:

to get a visa extension he NEEDS his passport

This is not a problem, he will be able to access immigration as needed for an extension by the Police. 

[likewise]

On 2/24/2018 at 8:32 AM, cornishcarlos said:

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...

Euh, any statement is in Thai here......You have no choice then to have an interpreter. We are in Thailand, everything at police station will be in Thai.......as would be expected.

[BritTim]

25 minutes ago, likewise said:

Euh, any statement is in Thai here......You have no choice then to have an interpreter. We are in Thailand, everything at police station will be in Thai.......as would be expected.

That is the reality, as is the fact that most will get an interpreter provided by the police. Personally, I would not trust a verbal translation by such an interpreter in Koh Tao, especially one involving money or one that might be a "confession", but could imagine being trapped into it.

[jackdd]

32 minutes ago, likewise said:

Euh, any statement is in Thai here......You have no choice then to have an interpreter. We are in Thailand, everything at police station will be in Thai.......as would be expected.

Then he should not sign anything

[Mario666]

On 2/24/2018 at 3:47 AM, simoh1490 said:

For those that know, no guesses please:

 

Which court jurisdiction would deal with this, where will the case be heard?

 

From previous posts/experiences, how long to get a trial date?

 

Presumably, no restrictions on travelling around Thailand during the interim, thoughts about accommodation might be useful for the interim period?

 

It looks from the scale posted earlier that the penalty is up to 8 days, absolute worst case, that's not a big deal, perhaps keep the worst case in mind.

 

The court case will be on Koh Samui.

 

If they have already taken finger prints and if the military are involved it is too late to pay the bribe.....Were the military involved????

 

The kid that I was dealing was arrested on Koh Tao by the cops, but the army were also there at the checkpoint.

 

Anyway they kept his passport and he had to report back to the cop shop on Koh Tao every two weeks while he was waiting for a court date.

 

He didn't have to stay on Koh Tao between cop shop visits and so I advised him to come and stay on Samui and keep his head down.

 

He had to wait 6 weeks to go to court, but was able to go to immigration and explain the situation so they would not do him for overstay.....after the hearing he was arrested immediately outside the courthouse and taken to Bhoput police cells in Chaweng where he had to wait in custody until the following Tuesday to be taken by prison van to IDC in BKK to await extradition.......this is routine. They only take them on Tuesdays.

 

The British Embassy were worse than <deleted> useless and the British Consul on Koh Samui (who is a personal friend of mine) wouldn't go near it as he knows that Koh Tao is run by "Mafia" and because of their reputation he was too scared.

 

Do not hire a lawyer as many of them are in cahoots with the cops so it will be a waste of time and money and they won't do anything anyway.

At court he was fined THB 60,000....He had already paid the cops on Koh Tao 60,000 which he never got back.

 

At Koh Tao police station they also tried the interpreter trick on him who wanted a fee of 25K, but it turns out she is on their payroll. Luckily he couldn't and so didn't pay.

 

The kid I knew spent 2 days in IDC then was deported to UK.

 

My guess is that the OP's son will get the same treatment so as it seems it may be too late to pay the cops off he will just have to sit it out.

 

The amount of the fine at Samui court will depend on how much cannabis he had on him.

 

If OP or anyone else wants to contact me personally re this feel free.

 

This only happened at the back end of last year and I am speaking from personal experience.

 

Good luck to you MUM!

 

 

 

 

[cornishcarlos]

1 hour ago, likewise said:

Euh, any statement is in Thai here......You have no choice then to have an interpreter. We are in Thailand, everything at police station will be in Thai.......as would be expected.

 

You can have it translated and sign the translation...

[likewise]

2 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

You can have it translated and sign the translation...

FOr Thai court only the Thai version will be used and taken into consideration.....I used to volunteer as a translator many years ago so am well aware how these things work ! Any English version will not be official for the courts.......

[Xaos]

49k is not a bail its bribe

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[ubonjoe]

4 minutes ago, Xaos said:

49k is not a bail its bribe

I has been confirmed it was bail. Go back several pages in the topic to find it.

[BritTim]

5 minutes ago, Xaos said:

49k is not a bail its bribe

In Koh Tao, you are almost certainly correct. There will be a bail receipt, but it will probably list someone other than the person who paid the bail as the one who will get it back.

[hobz]

On 2/25/2018 at 12:20 PM, Just Weird said:

If he meets he requirement of the court or police, whoever grants the bail, then he will get the bail back when the case is over.  This is a tourist who will not be here in 6 months not one of your yaba-addicted Thai friends.  I do not believe that bail refunds can be withheld until 6 months of clear urine tests have been completed after a case has finished.  It's either over or it isn't.  If what you say about your friend is accurate then he was probably on bail for that whole period.

Yes he probably was. And yes, obviously this tourist would not stay here this long, which is my whole point, he would not get his bail money back. He would get out on bail and leave the country,,, the case would then be dropped and the bail money would be held by the state.

[Mattd]

3 minutes ago, hobz said:

He would get out on bail and leave the country,,, the case would then be dropped and the bail money would be held by the state.

And how does he achieve this without his passport?

[hobz]

58 minutes ago, Mattd said:

And how does he achieve this without his passport?

just go to the embassy and get an emergency passport or something, unless the police give the passport back. 

[Mattd]

Just now, hobz said:

just go to the embassy and get an emergency passport or something, unless the police give the passport back. 

If only life was so easy!

1. The defendant has and is seeking consular assistance from the British Embassy.

2. There is no way that the British Embassy will issue him with an emergency passport whilst knowing that he is waiting legal proceedings against him.

3. He will be blocked in the Thai immigration system and would not be allowed to leave.

4. Last reports from his Mum were that his passport is being held by the authorities, which is normal procedure.

[hobz]

2 minutes ago, Mattd said:

If only life was so easy!

1. The defendant has and is seeking consular assistance from the British Embassy.

2. There is no way that the British Embassy will issue him with an emergency passport whilst knowing that he is waiting legal proceedings against him.

3. He will be blocked in the Thai immigration system and would not be allowed to leave.

4. Last reports from his Mum were that his passport is being held by the authorities, which is normal procedure.

Then it looks like he has to sit it out. Pretty unusual afaik. 

 

He should go to get his visa extended so he can avoid overstay charges. Or at least go have it sorted out as good as possible.

Edited February 26, 2018 by hobz

[anon789561]

on a different note, feel free to ignore most of my comments yesterday i was pretty damn wasted but am certainly suffering for it now

[Mario666]

1 hour ago, Mattd said:

And how does he achieve this without his passport?

Exactly....The kid in my story didn't get his passport back until after he was deported....i.e., not before he was physically on the plane.