Police Procedure?

[BngkkB]

I was robbed by a maid one time. I had hired her through an employment service so I had copies of her ID and Fingerprints on file. She had made off with a notebook computer, digital camera, camcorder and several other items. When the police arrived after calling them, they guarenteed me that they would catch her in a few days as I had copies of her fingerprints. They left with out taking anything with them and told me to go file a report at the station.

I go down to the station and make out the report. The next day I enlarge copies of her ID and write on it in Thai "Crook, reward for information on her location" and distributed it around the area that she had mentioned that she use to live at. A few hours later I receive a call from a Motorcye asking about the reward. Two hours later I hear from her mother telling me that she can track her down if I come pick her up the next day. After a very long day of driving several hundred kilometers around Thailand I finally have the maid in the back of the car. The police station that I filed the report at told me to "Let her go, we haven't filed the report yet so we can't do anything with her" So having spoken with her mother earlier I found out that this was not her first time and the last victim lived in the police district right next to the district I lived in. So I called the police in that district and they told me to "Bring her on down, we will take her".

After leaving her with the police for questioning, I receive a call from them about 3 hours later telling me to come down and identify my electronics. I go back down to the police station and sure enough all of the electronics are in their office, along with two young ladies from the Pawn Shop. The two ladies are demanding that I re-imburse them for what they paid for the items. I told them to settle this quickly I would give them HALF of what they paid. They refused as they had a Gov't document saying that they didn't have to give me back my stuff unless I paid them for it.

The next day I track down where the "Gov't Document" came from and called that office. I pretended that I was a pawnshop owner explained the situation. They told me to return the stuff immeadietly and loose the money I had paid the thief. I then waited about 3 hours and called the same office back and said I was the person that had my stuff stolen and explained the exact same situation. They told me that I had to re-imburse the pawn shop.?????????????????????

Long story short, the maid got 3 years in Jail, Six months later I ended up getting my things back with out paying the pawn shop anything, but I did end up paying everyone else involved about the same as what the Pawnshop had asked for originally.

So lesson learned is. Stick with your Rights and you will Pay and Wait. Or just pay off the Pawnshop and you will get your stuff right away.

Good luck.

[krangeek]

Dave 111223 you might like this one.

We have had 190,000.00 THB of equipment stolen over the last year. In brief 120,000.00 THB of this equipment has been located in a second hand company and still marked with our company name.

After taking photo's of the equipment we reported the stolen property to the police who did act on the matter and visited the shop along with us. The owner said he bought the equipment ffom another second hand company who we visited 1 week later because the police were very busy.

unfortunately the owner of this company cannot remeber who sold them the equipment nor took any copy of the ID of the person that sold it to them even after showing them photo's of everyone who has work for us in the last 2 years.

She did however inform me I could purchase back my equipment from the people that have my stolen property for the amount she received but said I would need to speak with them because she could not remeber that either.

Now comes the best part, under Thai law the criminal code section 334 Theft & 357 recieving stolen goods the sentance is up to 5 years imprisonment.

So far no one has been arrested or detained, possibly this may happen after the officers involved in the case return from holiday at some point next week.

Obviuosly the theft of 190,000.00 THB stolen from a foriegner is irrelevant in comparison to the Australian woman who was arrested / detained and faced 2.5 years imprisonment for the theft of a beer mat from a Thai bar.

Hope fully there is someone out there that can advise me of a good criminal lawyer in Chiang Mai.

I will post the outcome of this as I am sure it will make interesting reading.

Sooooo, if 'receiving' is up to 5 years, what is the penalty for the actual theft? I've been told by my Embassy that the amount, ie 1 baht or 1 million baht of the theft is of no significance here in Thailand. The penalty is still the same. A fact some farangs choose to overlook. Ignorance of the Law of whichsoever land, being no defence, and all that.

Sorry can't help with a recommend, Other end of the country.

Edited June 4, 2011 by krangeek

[MAJIC]

Dave 111223 you might like this one.

We have had 190,000.00 THB of equipment stolen over the last year. In brief 120,000.00 THB of this equipment has been located in a second hand company and still marked with our company name.

After taking photo's of the equipment we reported the stolen property to the police who did act on the matter and visited the shop along with us. The owner said he bought the equipment ffom another second hand company who we visited 1 week later because the police were very busy.

unfortunately the owner of this company cannot remeber who sold them the equipment nor took any copy of the ID of the person that sold it to them even after showing them photo's of everyone who has work for us in the last 2 years.

She did however inform me I could purchase back my equipment from the people that have my stolen property for the amount she received but said I would need to speak with them because she could not remeber that either.

Now comes the best part, under Thai law the criminal code section 334 Theft & 357 recieving stolen goods the sentance is up to 5 years imprisonment.

So far no one has been arrested or detained, possibly this may happen after the officers involved in the case return from holiday at some point next week.

Obviuosly the theft of 190,000.00 THB stolen from a foriegner is irrelevant in comparison to the Australian woman who was arrested / detained and faced 2.5 years imprisonment for the theft of a beer mat from a Thai bar.

Hope fully there is someone out there that can advise me of a good criminal lawyer in Chiang Mai.

I will post the outcome of this as I am sure it will make interesting reading.

And that is the crux and answer to this thread,Farangs can afford to lose the money,and Thailand has had another win.

Sad but true!

[Travel2003]

This must be frustrating.

After all, we expect public servants to perform their duty.

I can only guess this guy is known to the Police and they have enough evidence on him already, and don't bother with collecting more of the same type of evidence, and more hours worked of course.

;-)

Anyhow, another guess, the 3 million stolen mobile phones on sale in MBK should be enought for 30 million "Manhours" of investigation time by the Police as well.

Unfortunately, since stealing mobile phones is a national hobby, it will not get too high priority here.

Read weekly about low priority from Police back home, even when it comes to break ins.

[MAJIC]

This must be frustrating.

After all, we expect public servants to perform their duty.

I can only guess this guy is known to the Police and they have enough evidence on him already, and don't bother with collecting more of the same type of evidence, and more hours worked of course.

;-)

Anyhow, another guess, the 3 million stolen mobile phones on sale in MBK should be enought for 30 million "Manhours" of investigation time by the Police as well.

Unfortunately, since stealing mobile phones is a national hobby, it will not get too high priority here.

Read weekly about low priority from Police back home, even when it comes to break ins.

Sorry to have to contradict you,but genuine mobile phone shops have to comply with the law,and those within Complexes/Shopping Malls, will most certainly obey the law,my previous G/F was part owner in a mobile phone shop,in Koen Ken for 4 years.

And when someone came to sell or part exchange a mobile phone,she had to get them to fill out a Police Record Form Stating it was their property to sell,they then had to hand over their ID Card for photocopying,to be held with their Police Record Form,every 3 months the Police would come and check her stock against their Record Forms,and if there was any phone on the shelf with no origin of purchase i.e no Police Record Form, then the shop owners were in serious bother. The same method was used to help trace stolen mobiles. every phone sold has a unique IME no. So I doubt very much that genuine Phone Shops are outlets for many stolen phones.

Try finding your MOBILE PHONE IME no, by typing in, *#06# and dial out, or look inside the phone sticker/Barcode.

If everyone took note of their IME,more thieves could be pinned down with stolen property in possession.

Edited June 4, 2011 by MAJIC

[happyrobert]

Try finding your MOBILE PHONE IME no, by typing in, *#06# and dial out, or look inside the phone sticker/Barcode.

If everyone took note of their IME,more thieves could be pinned down with stolen property in possession.

Okay, I have my phone's IME. Now what do I do with it?

[happyrobert]

.... I go back down to the police station and sure enough all of the electronics are in their office, along with two young ladies from the Pawn Shop. The two ladies are demanding that I re-imburse them for what they paid for the items. I told them to settle this quickly I would give them HALF of what they paid. They refused as they had a Gov't document saying that they didn't have to give me back my stuff unless I paid them for it....

See, Semper, my post was Thai related afterall!

[trisailer]

Why not try protecting your phone so you don't loose it in the first place.

Seems to me that the cops have enough to do with catching real criminals and they probably see a lost phone as the problem of the guy who lost it. It's really quite basic. I've never lost or had anything stolen in five years in Thailand in spite of a parade of people through my home in my first year here.

I doubt you would get much sympathy for a lost phone in the west either.

[MAJIC]

Try finding your MOBILE PHONE IME no, by typing in, *#06# and dial out, or look inside the phone sticker/Barcode.

If everyone took note of their IME,more thieves could be pinned down with stolen property in possession.

Okay, I have my phone's IME. Now what do I do with it?

Write the IME number down,and keep it in a safe place that you will remember.

If it is stolen,and the Police have those in charge,who can't explain where they got their Mobile from,they can check against your IME.

Not a Perfect system,but better than doing nothing,as I previously stated, If everyone took note of their IME..................................

[Travel2003]

Anyhow, another guess, the 3 million stolen mobile phones on sale in MBK should be enought for 30 million "Manhours" of investigation time by the Police as well.

Unfortunately, since stealing mobile phones is a national hobby, it will not get too high priority here.

Sorry to have to contradict you,but genuine mobile phone shops have to comply with the law,

Agree, genuine mobile shops do comply.

;-)

Anyhow, if I sell my mobile for 3000 Bath to a friend, whom also sells it to another person, and it is sold again to a third person, etc, etc, before ending up in the shop.

When someone stole my mobile, then maybe sold it to someone, whom sells it again, before it finally ends up in the shop.

I doubt there is a paper trail back to original owner, so the last owner/seller can always claim ignorance, even if he/she is the one stole it as well.

Which is probably why the Police dont bother spending time with these cases.

[Richard4849]

According to another poster, neither ignorance nor lack of intent are possible defenses on charges of receiving stolen property. I plan to ask my lawyer next time I see him, though, because I have my doubts. I always understood that intent was a required component of all criminal charges in Thailand.

[Rosco911]

Dave 111223 you might like this one.

We have had 190,000.00 THB of equipment stolen over the last year. In brief 120,000.00 THB of this equipment has been located in a second hand company and still marked with our company name.

After taking photo's of the equipment we reported the stolen property to the police who did act on the matter and visited the shop along with us. The owner said he bought the equipment ffom another second hand company who we visited 1 week later because the police were very busy.

unfortunately the owner of this company cannot remeber who sold them the equipment nor took any copy of the ID of the person that sold it to them even after showing them photo's of everyone who has work for us in the last 2 years.

She did however inform me I could purchase back my equipment from the people that have my stolen property for the amount she received but said I would need to speak with them because she could not remeber that either.

Now comes the best part, under Thai law the criminal code section 334 Theft & 357 recieving stolen goods the sentance is up to 5 years imprisonment.

So far no one has been arrested or detained, possibly this may happen after the officers involved in the case return from holiday at some point next week.

Obviuosly the theft of 190,000.00 THB stolen from a foriegner is irrelevant in comparison to the Australian woman who was arrested / detained and faced 2.5 years imprisonment for the theft of a beer mat from a Thai bar.

Hope fully there is someone out there that can advise me of a good criminal lawyer in Chiang Mai.

I will post the outcome of this as I am sure it will make interesting reading.

Sooooo, if 'receiving' is up to 5 years, what is the penalty for the actual theft? I've been told by my Embassy that the amount, ie 1 baht or 1 million baht of the theft is of no significance here in Thailand. The penalty is still the same. A fact some farangs choose to overlook. Ignorance of the Law of whichsoever land, being no defence, and all that.

Sorry can't help with a recommend, Other end of the country.

It depends on what and from who has been stolen. Check out www.thailaws.com click the tab acts in English then go page 66 Theft.

This site translates the full criminal code and makes interesting reading and explains the laws but trying to use them as a foreigner seems a different story.

[Rosco911]

I was robbed by a maid one time. I had hired her through an employment service so I had copies of her ID and Fingerprints on file. She had made off with a notebook computer, digital camera, camcorder and several other items. When the police arrived after calling them, they guarenteed me that they would catch her in a few days as I had copies of her fingerprints. They left with out taking anything with them and told me to go file a report at the station.

I go down to the station and make out the report. The next day I enlarge copies of her ID and write on it in Thai "Crook, reward for information on her location" and distributed it around the area that she had mentioned that she use to live at. A few hours later I receive a call from a Motorcye asking about the reward. Two hours later I hear from her mother telling me that she can track her down if I come pick her up the next day. After a very long day of driving several hundred kilometers around Thailand I finally have the maid in the back of the car. The police station that I filed the report at told me to "Let her go, we haven't filed the report yet so we can't do anything with her" So having spoken with her mother earlier I found out that this was not her first time and the last victim lived in the police district right next to the district I lived in. So I called the police in that district and they told me to "Bring her on down, we will take her".

After leaving her with the police for questioning, I receive a call from them about 3 hours later telling me to come down and identify my electronics. I go back down to the police station and sure enough all of the electronics are in their office, along with two young ladies from the Pawn Shop. The two ladies are demanding that I re-imburse them for what they paid for the items. I told them to settle this quickly I would give them HALF of what they paid. They refused as they had a Gov't document saying that they didn't have to give me back my stuff unless I paid them for it.

The next day I track down where the "Gov't Document" came from and called that office. I pretended that I was a pawnshop owner explained the situation. They told me to return the stuff immeadietly and loose the money I had paid the thief. I then waited about 3 hours and called the same office back and said I was the person that had my stuff stolen and explained the exact same situation. They told me that I had to re-imburse the pawn shop.?????????????????????

Long story short, the maid got 3 years in Jail, Six months later I ended up getting my things back with out paying the pawn shop anything, but I did end up paying everyone else involved about the same as what the Pawnshop had asked for originally.

So lesson learned is. Stick with your Rights and you will Pay and Wait. Or just pay off the Pawnshop and you will get your stuff right away.

Good luck.

Thanks for your post intersting reading. Makes a point that we are not alone in our experiences and sure we will not be last.

[MAJIC]

Anyhow, another guess, the 3 million stolen mobile phones on sale in MBK should be enought for 30 million "Manhours" of investigation time by the Police as well.

Unfortunately, since stealing mobile phones is a national hobby, it will not get too high priority here.

Sorry to have to contradict you,but genuine mobile phone shops have to comply with the law,

Agree, genuine mobile shops do comply.

;-)

Anyhow, if I sell my mobile for 3000 Bath to a friend, whom also sells it to another person, and it is sold again to a third person, etc, etc, before ending up in the shop.

When someone stole my mobile, then maybe sold it to someone, whom sells it again, before it finally ends up in the shop.

I doubt there is a paper trail back to original owner, so the last owner/seller can always claim ignorance, even if he/she is the one stole it as well.

Which is probably why the Police dont bother spending time with these cases.

I see your point,although unlikely,the last owner to sell it to the shop will be deemed to be the thief,

claiming ignorance is no argument in law,if it was the Jails would be half empty!

[Travel2003]

Anyhow, another guess, the 3 million stolen mobile phones on sale in MBK should be enought for 30 million "Manhours" of investigation time by the Police as well.

Unfortunately, since stealing mobile phones is a national hobby, it will not get too high priority here.

Sorry to have to contradict you,but genuine mobile phone shops have to comply with the law,

Agree, genuine mobile shops do comply.

;-)

Anyhow, if I sell my mobile for 3000 Bath to a friend, whom also sells it to another person, and it is sold again to a third person, etc, etc, before ending up in the shop.

When someone stole my mobile, then maybe sold it to someone, whom sells it again, before it finally ends up in the shop.

I doubt there is a paper trail back to original owner, so the last owner/seller can always claim ignorance, even if he/she is the one stole it as well.

Which is probably why the Police dont bother spending time with these cases.

I see your point,although unlikely,the last owner to sell it to the shop will be deemed to be the thief,

claiming ignorance is no argument in law,if it was the Jails would be half empty!

So you seriously believe that all the used moblie phones for sale at MBK are good stuff?

[MAJIC]

Travel2003: Anyhow, another guess, the 3 million stolen mobile phones on sale in MBK should be enought for 30 million "Manhours" of investigation time by the Police as well.

Unfortunately, since stealing mobile phones is a national hobby, it will not get too high priority here.

MAJIC: Sorry to have to contradict you,but genuine mobile phone shops have to comply with the law,

Travel2003: Agree, genuine mobile shops do comply.

;-)

Anyhow, if I sell my mobile for 3000 Bath to a friend, whom also sells it to another person, and it is sold again to a third person, etc, etc, before ending up in the shop.

When someone stole my mobile, then maybe sold it to someone, whom sells it again, before it finally ends up in the shop.

I doubt there is a paper trail back to original owner, so the last owner/seller can always claim ignorance, even if he/she is the one stole it as well.

Which is probably why the Police dont bother spending time with these cases.

MAJIC:I see your point,although unlikely,the last owner to sell it to the shop will be deemed to be the thief,

claiming ignorance is no argument in law,if it was the Jails would be half empty!

Travel2003: So you seriously believe that all the used moblie phones for sale at MBK are good stuff?

MAJIC: No I didn't say that, and I don't seriously believe that "all the used mobile phones for sale at MBK are good stuff" neither do I believe that there are :"3 million stolen mobile phones on sale in MBK"

The whole point of my post,was to show that the Police are at least trying to address a difficult problem,how zealous they are in pursuing stolen mobile phones is open to conjecture.

I rest my case!

Edited June 7, 2011 by MAJIC

[somchai69]

IME they only catch a criminal if someone takes the police officer by the hand

and points out "that is the person......."

Investigation, forensics?????????

Forget it, they haven't a clue.

Just look at the Saudi Jewel robbery 15 years ago.

With all the diplomatic pressure that ensued, they have still not cleared up the mess and recovered the loot.

Edited June 7, 2011 by somchai69