Process of posting bail in Thailand?

[cocoonclub]

Does anyone have information on the bail system in Thailand? In particular, I'd like to understand:

 

- How much to expect for first-time possession/consuming of amphetamine?

- How the process of bailing out someone generally works?

- Whether there will be any obligations/disadvantages on the person posting bail, such as that that person has to personally guarantee, or that it will be on her records and visible for e.g. employers?

- Whether any kind of receipt will be issued stating that and how much bail was posted?

 

Someone asked me for help so I'd like to do my due diligence to check whether it's legit or just someone taking advantage of me...

[greenchair]

If you post bail for someone, and that person does not turn up for court, you automatically lose your bail money. You do not need to give the bail money to the court, but a letter from the bank saying those funds are available and frozen is enough. Or you can use a house deed. Or you can give cash to the court, of which you will get a receipt. 

The bail is set based on the accused income and means and the seriousness of the offence . For what you are talking about, possibly between 200,000 and 400,000 baht. 

In the case of amphetamine, it's possible even a first offender will recieve a prison sentence. 

If you have a lot of money and don't mind possibly losing it, then by all means go ahead. 

If not ask yourself. 

How well do I know this person. 

Does this person have a fixed address? 

Does this person have enough reason not to run away  (kids etc)

 There will be no record in your visa or any other place that you posted bail. and it will not effect you on paper. Aside from losing your money. 

I am not a lawyer, but this was my experience when I posted bail. 

Be careful of the interpreter, mine told me that I had to borrow 50000 baht from a loan shark and 20000 would be kept as interest. Lucky I can speak Thai. The clerk said a bank promise is fine. No money ever changed hands. 

That was for my partner, I would not do it for any Harry or jon

[williamgeorgeallen]

best option is to have a phone number from a good lawyer. drugs are not my thing but i did have problems over my work permit which ended up with me locked up in the na jomtien police station. it was a friday night but i managed to post bail otherwise i would have been locked up to monday morning. often you can negotiate an on the spot fine for smaller drug related crimes. i bailed out a couple of my employees who were caught with yabba pills. 4000thb each for release without having to go to court. there is no hard and fast rules from what i can see. again get the details of a good lawyer and try to call them before you even get to a police station. paying an on the spot fine to a single cop is generally cheaper than paying it to a number of them. better add that getting involved in drugs her is even more of a mistake than back in the west. thai jails have a pretty bad reputation.

[swissbie]

1 hour ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

best option is to have a phone number from a good lawyer. drugs are not my thing but i did have problems over my work permit which ended up with me locked up in the na jomtien police station. it was a friday night but i managed to post bail otherwise i would have been locked up to monday morning. often you can negotiate an on the spot fine for smaller drug related crimes. i bailed out a couple of my employees who were caught with yabba pills. 4000thb each for release without having to go to court. there is no hard and fast rules from what i can see. again get the details of a good lawyer and try to call them before you even get to a police station. paying an on the spot fine to a single cop is generally cheaper than paying it to a number of them. better add that getting involved in drugs her is even more of a mistake than back in the west. thai jails have a pretty bad reputation.

You didn't bail out your employees for getting caught with amphetamine, you bribed the police. From the spot to the police office to the prison it's getting more and more expensive. OP, you can pay the bail in cash (with receipt) or a statement from the bank, don't use a title deed, when there is a promblem later on,  only the amount written on the title deed will be accounted for (what's often far less than the real worth). Your only risk is loosing your money.

[cocoonclub]

Thanks for your replies, appreciate it. 

 

It wouldnt be me posting bail. Gf is asking for money to bail out her dad. While I generally trust her (amongst other reasons, never asked for money in 4 years of relationship), I heard to much shit so want to do my due diligence before wiring money to her. 

 

How does that bank statement work? Do you need to have enough funds in that account? How about owning land and property (they have a house in Bangkok though nothing fancy)? 

 

I asked her for a police report, but she says she doesn't have it, don't know where/how to get it, and need the money fast because she can only bail him out tomorrow morning or then again next Tuesday (says there's only Tuesday and Thursday). She doesn't even know the exact amount, no one could tell her, just "bring enough money". Sounds odd to me, but I don't know; maybe a prosecutor or court guy needs to come first to specify the amount? 

[AsianScamDoctor]

Can we discuss the bail amount ?

 

 

[greenchair]

13 minutes ago, cocoonclub said:

Thanks for your replies, appreciate it. 

 

It wouldnt be me posting bail. Gf is asking for money to bail out her dad. While I generally trust her (amongst other reasons, never asked for money in 4 years of relationship), I heard to much shit so want to do my due diligence before wiring money to her. 

 

How does that bank statement work? Do you need to have enough funds in that account? How about owning land and property (they have a house in Bangkok though nothing fancy)? 

 

I asked her for a police report, but she says she doesn't have it, don't know where/how to get it, and need the money fast because she can only bail him out tomorrow morning or then again next Tuesday (says there's only Tuesday and Thursday). She doesn't even know the exact amount, no one could tell her, just "bring enough money". Sounds odd to me, but I don't know; maybe a prosecutor or court guy needs to come first to specify the amount? 

Well that puts a different light on it. 

If she owns a house she can use a deed as security. If he has not been to court, she will not know the bail amount , but but usually the court clerk can tell her. There is a standard amount. As for mailing her the money, that's probably not a good idea. I thought you were here to do it yourself. I am quite sure you can get the bank guarantee. You just need to show the available funds on that day. And have a letter of authority from the bank, that the court can withdraw it. Then the money is frozen. No need to give her a penny. But it's not that she is being dishonest, she might not know about these ways. 

[cocoonclub]

There is no bail amount. She couldn't tell me because no one couldn't tell her. She said she was told to bring "as much money as possible", which sounds pretty odd to me. But then, again, maybe there needs to come a prosecutor or court guy first to specify the amount and the police station really cannot give any indication before. 

 

So she asked me to send 30-50k because that's what she believes could be the bail amount, based on a previous experience with her cousin bailed out because of weed which apparently was 10k THB. 

 

She said she will be told tomorrow morning but need to bring cash. 

[greenchair]

By the way. The house usually means nothing in Thailand, but the land is worth a lot especially in Bkk. 

[scd]

Without casting aspersions the whole thing sounds dodgy to me.

I have some knowledge with these matters and your last paragraph in particular is a worry.

Let alone that you're not in the country and the father, who must be in his 40's at least, and who also owns property, is the one requiring bail money for being busted with drugs?

I'd be keeping my wallet closed if I was you.

[cocoonclub]

As far as I know, house and land still belong to the sick grandpa living there with the rest of the family. I was there once; they're all living there under one roof, rest of the house rented out to tenants.  And, yes, it's her dad who was busted (together with his new, much younger gf) for taking Amphetamine. He went missing for some days and didn't show up at work, and that's how they found out what happened. 

 

But i agree, it sounds dodgy. That's why I'm trying to do my due diligence. Again, I don't have reason to not trust her, but then you never know in Thailand. 

Edited November 9, 2016 by cocoonclub

[Grubster]

I think some of these replies are crap. Three years ago I paid 10,000 baht to bail out my girfriends first time amphetamine offender brother. He got the 10,000 baht back one year later after testing every month and stayed clean, He then gave me the 10,000 baht back. 

    Two months ago her younger brother got busted first time offender,  20,000 baht, same deal stay clean get it back next year.              

 

     I think if someone is telling you big baht amounts you are being scammed by them. It could be an easy way to get some cash from you.

[cocoonclub]

Thanks. Let me see how this ends. I told her there are other options than cash, but also that I'd be willing to help with cash after consulting my Thai lawyer for which I'd need the police report and other information. 

 

To be honest, it feels dodgy. 

[stevenl]

There is no bail amount. She couldn't tell me because no one couldn't tell her. She said she was told to bring "as much money as possible", which sounds pretty odd to me. But then, again, maybe there needs to come a prosecutor or court guy first to specify the amount and the police station really cannot give any indication before. 
 
So she asked me to send 30-50k because that's what she believes could be the bail amount, based on a previous experience with her cousin bailed out because of weed which apparently was 10k THB. 
 
She said she will be told tomorrow morning but need to bring cash. 

Sounds like paying of the police.

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[greenchair]

You have been with this girl 4 years. 30 or 40,000 really isn't that much. The Thais take care of their families. I would send 20,000.write it off as a bad debt and be grateful if you get a surprise and it comes back. 

[cocoonclub]

Good point, could be the case. Wouldn't make it easier for me though, because there wouldn't be anything official or documented then which I could take as a proof for the whole story. 

[cocoonclub]

Doesn't seem to be bribing the police. She said she has to deal with the main probation office, whatever that is. 

[mcfish]

So this is about the Gf bailing out dad and your not in the country right? Just because she never hit you up before before doesn't mean it's not BS
Think long and hard about this.

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[paul18620]

at least it took her 4 years to try and get money from you ,as with what you are saying doesn't sound right to me either that she can't get the police report to at least show you the story she is telling you is not BS .

[AsianScamDoctor]

5 hours ago, AsianScamDoctor said:

Can we discuss the bail amount ?

 

 

 

Of the judge decides it and we cannot do anything about the amount ?

 

Also, did you know that your GF dad was taking drug ?

 

It's clear that the story is fishy. Forget it ! anyway it's not your own dad, so who cares ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[greenchair]

She's not asking for that much money. You've been with her 4 years. Just send it. Save yourself a headache with all this investigation. 

She's not asked before. I think you should give it to her and ask questions later. 

[FritsSikkink]

11 hours ago, cocoonclub said:

Thanks for your replies, appreciate it. 

 

It wouldnt be me posting bail. Gf is asking for money to bail out her dad. While I generally trust her (amongst other reasons, never asked for money in 4 years of relationship), I heard to much shit so want to do my due diligence before wiring money to her. 

 

How does that bank statement work? Do you need to have enough funds in that account? How about owning land and property (they have a house in Bangkok though nothing fancy)? 

 

I asked her for a police report, but she says she doesn't have it, don't know where/how to get it, and need the money fast because she can only bail him out tomorrow morning or then again next Tuesday (says there's only Tuesday and Thursday). She doesn't even know the exact amount, no one could tell her, just "bring enough money". Sounds odd to me, but I don't know; maybe a prosecutor or court guy needs to come first to specify the amount? 

As she has nothing on paper, she isn't putting bail out but will bribe the cops at best. If it happened at all.  You will never see the money again.

[the donger]

 

Hi I have posted bail before. 

 

- How much to expect for first-time possession/consuming of amphetamine? don't know but it's worth remembering that foreigners have their bail doubled. The standard bail fee is 200,000 but that's if the judge doesn't bother to look at the charges. 

- How the process of bailing out someone generally works? You request bail with the prosecuting officer, which will be at a police station. Then you go to the court and request it to the judge. You submit the money and his passport (standard for foreigners), and then at 7pm that night the prison guards get notified of who to release, and he is turfed out. You MUST have the passport, you cannot give it later.

- Whether there will be any obligations/disadvantages on the person posting bail, such as that that person has to personally guarantee, or that it will be on her records and visible for e.g. employers? When it come to returning the bail, which happens six weeks after the case verdict, you and only you can collect it. 

- Whether any kind of receipt will be issued stating that and how much bail was posted?Yeah you get a bail receipt which you must keep to get it back. 

 

Someone asked me for help so I'd like to do my due diligence to check whether it's legit or just someone taking advantage of me...

[the donger]

16 hours ago, cocoonclub said:

Thanks for your replies, appreciate it. 

 

It wouldnt be me posting bail. Gf is asking for money to bail out her dad. While I generally trust her (amongst other reasons, never asked for money in 4 years of relationship), I heard to much shit so want to do my due diligence before wiring money to her. 

 

How does that bank statement work? Do you need to have enough funds in that account? How about owning land and property (they have a house in Bangkok though nothing fancy)? 

 

I asked her for a police report, but she says she doesn't have it, don't know where/how to get it, and need the money fast because she can only bail him out tomorrow morning or then again next Tuesday (says there's only Tuesday and Thursday). She doesn't even know the exact amount, no one could tell her, just "bring enough money". Sounds odd to me, but I don't know; maybe a prosecutor or court guy needs to come first to specify the amount? 

You need a police report otherwise it's impossible for you to pay at court. 

Tuesday and thurday is just false, bail works any day except the weekend when courts are closed. 

 

Unless maybe he is still at the police station? and she is trying to get him out before the paperwork is processed and he is sent to jail and through the court system. In this case she is talking about a bribe, not bail, so be careful with your money. 

[the donger]

16 hours ago, cocoonclub said:

There is no bail amount. She couldn't tell me because no one couldn't tell her. She said she was told to bring "as much money as possible", which sounds pretty odd to me. But then, again, maybe there needs to come a prosecutor or court guy first to specify the amount and the police station really cannot give any indication before. 

 

So she asked me to send 30-50k because that's what she believes could be the bail amount, based on a previous experience with her cousin bailed out because of weed which apparently was 10k THB. 

 

She said she will be told tomorrow morning but need to bring cash. 

Ok last post to give you some info.

 

How bail works for serious crimes is: after 48 hours detention the police must send the guy to court for processing, or release him with no charge. He goes to court and gives an initial plea (just a formality ), and then is asked if he is posting bail. if yes, he is kept to one side while you arrange it with the police and deposit it with the court. if no, he goes to remand prison - where bail can still be posted at any time. Then the police proceed to build the case to bring to court, etc. once finished, bail is returned to whoever paid it in. 

 

So yes, you can't pay bail during the initial 2 day detention, and the bail amount your girlfriend quoted will be an estimate of standard prices. 

 

Just remember that if he does a runner, bail is gone. If he misses a hearing, gone. And only your gf can collect it. Depending on the amount I would suggest paying it in yourself. 

Edited November 10, 2016 by the donger

[greenchair]

Just give her the money for gods sake. She's never asked before. 

She probably really needs it. 

[cocoonclub]

Thanks for all your replies. This is how it ended for now:

 

Gf and her uncle (dad's bro) first went to the police station this morning. Apparently, they took her dad, his gf and her kids last Friday because neighbors had concerns about the well-being of the kids. Police found the girl taking meth; dad didn't do anything (and, according to my gf, never had) but was busted anyways (my gf said it's not uncommon in Thailand that all at the scene get busted, especially when drugs are involved). Both were locked up at the station and not allowed any calls (according to my gf it was one of the worst police stations in Bangkok), then transfered to prison another day.  

 

After picking up police report and his belongings from the police station, they went to some court to bail him out. 20k THB at the cashier, and they wouldn't accept anything else (could be just her not trying, or her pretending it was like that to save face - we had a discussion last night about her options and she got in her thai'ish stubbornness and "know it all better"-attitude that bank statement or deed would be too complicated and taking too long). 

 

Then on to the prison where she got him out this evening, to bring him home and beg him another time to leave that girl. 

 

Ill transfer her some money to cover the rest of the month until her salary is out because that 20k was all she had saved. She'll send me the police report. 

 

Of course, could still be all made-up and her backpedaling after I requested the police report yesterday. As mentioned before, I heard too many bad stories and am overly suspicious, even with a decent girl I trust. On the other hand, believe there could be less complicated and less face-losing stories than dad getting busted for drugs. Well, you never know. 

 

 

[mcfish]

The way I see it you done good. When you eventually find out the truth you either got Away with just a 20k loss or your lady is honest and a winner. Good luck either Way

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[greenchair]

Thank goodness you will give it to her. You really should stop belittling her. They are not all money scammers. 

[optad]

The GF's Dad's mia noi's kids get busted.... 

 

I hear you. I am not being sarcastic, but it is amazing how we get roped into some strange stuff. Got my own stories.

 

I, too, think you have gotten out of this one well. I was going to post a firm that handles bail issues before reading the above and read the solution or outcome. Should always go the law route just for sanity not expense.Anyhow.

 

Distance relationship do change perspectives though, good girl or not. 

http://www.thailandbail.com/bail/