Man Gets Bt300.000 Compensation For Wrongful Arrest By Thai Police

[webfact]

Payout for wrongful arrest

By The Nation

A man wrongfully implicated and detained by the police Narcotics Suppression Bureau has been awarded Bt300,000 in compensation.

NSB commander Pol Lt-General Atithep Panjamanont, speaking at a news conference yesterday, apologised to Somjai sae-Lim, 39, for pressing a charge against him and detaining him for 23 days. He blamed a citizen registration database for wrongly identifying Somjai because another suspect had exactly the same name.

Before Somjai's arrest two years ago, police detained two suspects in a sting in Phetchaburi, who gave the name Somjai sae-Lim to police as an accomplice, leading to Somjai's arrest. During a line-up identification, the two suspects later said he was not a party to their dealings and NSB agents began the process of dropping the charges against him.

Somjai thanked the NSB for giving him the money, which he said would be spent on legal counselling over his detention, as well as to treat his wife for thalassaemia, a blood disease.

He plans to be ordained as a monk on July 10.

-- The Nation 2011-06-28

[Deez]

First I have ever heard of thai police admitting to a mistake. Pigs are flying

[evanson]

First I have ever heard of thai police admitting to a mistake. Pigs are flying

I must admit my draw dropped on this headline. Hope it encourages others to speak out if they believe their grievances will, against everything I've heard and been witness to, at least, considered.

Where is the department where complaints can be made against the police?

[Pi Sek]

Where is the department where complaints can be made against the police?

The chief or deputy chief of your local public prosecutor's office.

Whilst this is good news, it is a shame that it happened in the first place. All they got from the 2 guys that had got nabbed in the sting was a name? No phone number, address, description? Also I notice the police mistake was due to some registry's mistake, so it wasn't the police's fault!

Not sure from the OP, but was this compensation for wrongful arrest (i.e. the detainment is a separate issue?). The OP says the money "would be spent on legal counselling over his detention". The legal counselling whilst he was in jail or future legal counselling to sue the police?

This poor guy spent 23 days in prison with no good reason - he deserves a payout. There's a member on here (who I know in the real world) who spent well over a year in prison before the judge threw the case out due to lack of evidence. I'm not sure if he got anything, but he never mentioned any payment for wrongful imprisonment and I never saw any acceptance of fault from the DSI for their trumped-up charges on him.

[lazeeboy]

Where is the department where complaints can be made against the police?

The chief or deputy chief of your local public prosecutor's office.

Whilst this is good news, it is a shame that it happened in the first place. All they got from the 2 guys that had got nabbed in the sting was a name? No phone number, address, description? Also I notice the police mistake was due to some registry's mistake, so it wasn't the police's fault!

Not sure from the OP, but was this compensation for wrongful arrest (i.e. the detainment is a separate issue?). The OP says the money "would be spent on legal counselling over his detention". The legal counselling whilst he was in jail or future legal counselling to sue the police?

This poor guy spent 23 days in prison with no good reason - he deserves a payout. There's a member on here (who I know in the real world) who spent well over a year in prison before the judge threw the case out due to lack of evidence. I'm not sure if he got anything, but he never mentioned any payment for wrongful imprisonment and I never saw any acceptance of fault from the DSI for their trumped-up charges on him.

that same guy had to pay 20000b overstay as while he was in jail his visa expired ...........

[Wallaby]

There is a difference between wrongful arrest and having charges dropped due to lack of evidence. I've never heard of anyone getting a payout in any legal matter due to the dropping of charges for lack of evidence.

For trumped up charges (if that means the police lied and found guilty of perjury) then he may get compensation.

[FOODLOVER]

Good thing he wasn't on "The List".

[bristolgeoff]

i agree with a previous note,first it made the press and police admit fault

[kennalder]

First I have ever heard of thai police admitting to a mistake. Pigs are flying

Not exactly!

"He blamed a citizen registration database for wrongly identifying Somjai because another suspect had exactly the same name."

The computer holding the database was the real problem. Just about everyone gets a free pass.

I'll admit even apologizing for a rogue computer is a big step.

[KeyserSoze01]

apologised to Somjai sae-Lim, 39, for pressing a charge against him and detaining him for 23 days.

Perhaps there is hope for true law enforcement in Thailand.

He blamed a citizen registration database for wrongly identifying Somjai because another suspect had exactly the same name.

Oh snap. Never mind.

[zabaleta]

There is a difference between wrongful arrest and having charges dropped due to lack of evidence. I've never heard of anyone getting a payout in any legal matter due to the dropping of charges for lack of evidence.

For trumped up charges (if that means the police lied and found guilty of perjury) then he may get compensation.

although i'm no lawyer and i may be wrong...but i can't see how their is a difference between wrongful arrest and charges dropped due to lack of evidence...

at the end of the day..if the police arrest you but have no evidence,surely that's wrongful arrest!

very surprised about the compensation payment,i'm sure if everybody in thailand who was wrongfully arrested got compensation the country would have bigger money problems than greece!!

[MrChangers]

"Somjai thanked the NSB for giving him the money, which he said would be spent on legal counselling over his detention, as well as to treat his wife for thalassaemia, a blood disease.

He plans to be ordained as a monk on July 10."

and they all lived happily ever after..... who writes this mental cripple rubbish? Even worse who would swallow it?

[Wallaby]

There is a difference between wrongful arrest and having charges dropped due to lack of evidence. I've never heard of anyone getting a payout in any legal matter due to the dropping of charges for lack of evidence.

For trumped up charges (if that means the police lied and found guilty of perjury) then he may get compensation.

although i'm no lawyer and i may be wrong...but i can't see how their is a difference between wrongful arrest and charges dropped due to lack of evidence...

at the end of the day..if the police arrest you but have no evidence,surely that's wrongful arrest!

very surprised about the compensation payment,i'm sure if everybody in thailand who was wrongfully arrested got compensation the country would have bigger money problems than greece!!

As with most things legal I'll probably be as clear as mud but I'll try and give you an example.

A witness tells police that you committed a crime and they arrest you. Further investigation finds that witness was blind drunk and unreliable, or maybe even had a vendetta against you and lied about the complaint. The police initially arrested you because of that complaint, the arrest is made in good faith. Of course later investigations find all this further info and the prosecutor would determine that no jury would reasonably find you guilty and drop all charges, or some of them. Basically the prosecutor is saying it is a waste of time because the complainant lied (or something else) but the police acted on the evidence at hand at that time. They did not wrongfully arrest you. You will find in most jurisdictions the police will charge a person with just about everything they can and later the prosecutor will drop some of those charges as unsustainable and maybe just prosecute for the charges that has strong evidence.

Wrongful arrest can be where the only evidence is from the police who had evidence that you did no wrong, or lied about the evidence themselves to charge you. It wasn't in good faith.

On a personal note...my ex gf's father was arrested for faking his own death. The also arrested my gf for basically being an accessory to it. He got a year in the big house. She had her charges dropped (3 times). There was circumstantial evidence that she knew what he'd done and had assisted him but they couldn't compel her father or mother to give evidence against her so the prosection determined a jury would be unreasonable to convict on flimsy evidence.

It does get a bit technical but I won't go into that here.

Now I've probably totally confused you.

Her is the link to the story about my ex. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/vanishing-millionaire-in-court/2005/12/22/1135032118985.html

Edited June 28, 2011 by Wallaby

[Sabre]

First I have ever heard of thai police admitting to a mistake. Pigs are flying

I must admit my draw dropped on this headline. Hope it encourages others to speak out if they believe their grievances will, against everything I've heard and been witness to, at least, considered.

Where is the department where complaints can be made against the police?

Complaints (in Thai) can be submitted to the Inspector General of the Royal Thai Police at the website www.jaray.org. There is also a postal address there if you prefer to use that.

You could also try to talk to the station commander and/or file a written complaint at the relevant station.

If there is a human rights issue you can also lodge a complaint with the Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand.

Finally, you can file criminal charges against the officer in question.

Probably though, you wouldn't rock the boat, in the interests of self-preservation.

[KKK]

At long last we see some real justice in this country.

[newtronbom]

<br />

<br />Where is the department where complaints can be made against the police?<br />

<br /><br />The chief or deputy chief of your local public prosecutor's office.<br /><br />Whilst this is good news, it is a shame that it happened in the first place. All they got from the 2 guys that had got nabbed in the sting was a name? No phone number, address, description? Also I notice the police mistake was due to some registry's mistake, so it wasn't the police's fault!<br /><br />Not sure from the OP, but was this compensation for wrongful arrest (i.e. the detainment is a separate issue?). The OP says the money &quot;would be spent on legal counselling over his detention&quot;. The legal counselling whilst he was in jail or future legal counselling to sue the police?<br /><br />This poor guy spent 23 days in prison with no good reason - he deserves a payout. There's a member on here (who I know in the real world) who spent <u>well over a year</u> in prison before the judge threw the case out due to lack of evidence. I'm not sure if he got anything, but he never mentioned any payment for wrongful imprisonment and I never saw any acceptance of fault from the DSI for their trumped-up charges on him.<br />

<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />My wife and I spent 2 hellish years inside, waiting for our case to come before the judge, so that we could be set free. That happened just on 4 years ago now, and we have yet to receive a single baht in compensation for anything. On bail, so I don't have a visa - so can't legally get a job here and I am not allowed to leave the country (part of the bail conditions) to find work either. To make matters even worse, my 50 foot yacht is due to sink on it's mooring, as I can't afford the maintenance to keep it afloat anymore. We mistakenly thought our case could not be far off being heard 2 years ago, so totally wasted 350,000 baht painting and refitting her, hoping to do some charters when the case closed. What a joke! This guy only spent 23 days inside and got 300,000 baht for his trouble. Wonder if we will get anything? Still have yet to receive an apology from the filth, let alone anything else....... Edited June 30, 2011 by newtronbom