Volume 114, Issue 72A
Royal Gazette
16 November 2540
Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: Since it appears that offences have been committed against women and children, in which women or children are bought, sold, disposed of, carried away, or procured by various means for the purpose of fulfilling the desire of [the offenders] themselves or other persons, for indecent purposes, or for other wrongful purposes, including the selling of children and the forcing of children to become beggars or to be employed in brutal or cruel forms of labour, it is appropriate to designate penal provisions anew so that they cover the said acts. In addition, at present, the described acts are not only limited to women or girls, but they have extended to boys and tend to occur against anyone, regardless of the sex. It is thus appropriate to modify the bases of the offences in relevant provisions so that they become broader, and it is appropriate to amend section 282 and section 283 of the Penal Code, which provide that Thai courts to be of the power to punish the mentioned acts, even though committed abroad, by separating them into distinct clauses in section 7, which deals with the power of Thai courts to punish criminal acts characteristic of international crimes. Therefore, it is necessary to enact this Act.
