Translation:Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 25), 2559 BE

by National Legislative Assembly of Thailand (2014)

Table of contents

Act

Preamble

Section

1. Title
2. Commencement
3. Amendment to section 29: failure to pay a fine
4. Insertion of section 29/1: enforcement of distress
5. Amendment to section 30: term of confinement imposed instead of fine
6. Amendment to section 30/1: community service imposed instead of fine
7. Amendment to section 56: probation
8. Amendment to section 84: abetting
9. Insertion of section 85/1: mitigating circumstances for secondary participants
10. Transitory provision
11. Persons to implement this Act

Statement of grounds

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Seal of the Royal Command

Criminal Code Amendment
Act (No 25),
2559 BE

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Bhumibol Adulyadej R
Given on the 4th day of April 2559 BE
Being the 71st year of the present reign

His Majesty King Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej is pleased to give a Great Royal Command that it be announced as follows:

Whereas it is appropriate to amend the Criminal Code;

Therefore, by and with the advice and consent of the National Legislative Assembly, He is graciously pleased to enact following Act:

Section1.This Act is called the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 25), 2559 BE.

Section2.This Act shall enter into operation from the day following the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.

Section3.The dispositions of section 29 of the Criminal Code shall be repealed and replaced by the following dispositions:

“Section29.Whoever has been sentenced to a fine and fails to pay the fine within thirty days from the day the court gave the judgment must undergo seizure of property or attachment of claims over property to satisfy the fine, or else must undergo confinement instead of the fine. But if the court entertains a reasonable suspicion that he would avoid paying the fine, the court may order him to provide security or undergo confinement instead of the fine for the time being.

The disposition of paragraph 2 of section 24 shall not apply to confinement imposed instead of a fine.”

Section4.The following dispositions shall be inserted in the Criminal Code as section 29/1:

“Section29/1.In the event that a person fined fails to pay the fine within the time period under section 29, paragraph 1, the court shall have the power to issue a writ of execution in order to seize property or attach claims over property to satisfy the fine.

The Civil Procedure Code shall apply mutatis mutandis to the execution under paragraph 1, in respect of which the court officers as may be appointed and the public prosecutors shall have the powers and duties to carry the execution out, and the execution officers shall have the powers and duties to seize property or attach claims over property of the person fined and sell them at public auction according to notifications received from the court or from the public prosecutors. However, no state agency shall demand payment of costs or outlays from the persons carrying the execution out.

Detection by a public prosecutor of property of the person fined in order to carry the execution out in accordance with paragraph 2 shall conform to the criteria, procedures, and conditions designated in rules of the Attorney General.

The provisions of this section do not affect the court in giving an order according to section 29, paragraph 1.”

Section5.The dispositions of section 30 of the Criminal Code, which have been amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 15), 2545 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following dispositions:

“Section30.In applying confinement instead of a fine, the rate of five hundred baht per day shall be observed, and whether the case be of a single count or of several counts, the confinement shall not be applied for a period longer than one year, save where the court gives a judgment imposing a fine of two hundred thousand baht or more, in which event the court may order confinement instead of the fine for a period longer than one year but not than two years.

In calculating the time period, the day on which the confinement imposed instead of the fine commences shall be included and shall be counted as one full day, regardless of the number of hours.

In the event that the person fined had been detained before the court gave the judgment, the days of such detention shall be deducted from the amount of the fine at the rate of five hundred baht per day, save where he has been adjudged to both imprisonment and fine, in which event, if the days of detention also need to be deducted from the time of imprisonment according to section 22, such deduction shall be made first, and whatever remains shall then be deducted from the fine.

When the person fined has undergone confinement instead of the fine until completion of the term, he shall be released on the day following the day of such completion. If money is provided to pay up his fine, he shall be released forthwith.”

Section6.The disposition of paragraph 1 of section 30/1 of the Criminal Code, which has been amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 15), 2545 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following disposition:

“Section30/1.In the event that a court has given a judgment imposing a fine, the person fined, who is not a juristic person and has no money to pay the fine, may file with the court of first instance adjudging his case a motion for permission to perform a work of social service or work of public interest instead of paying the fine, or if it becomes known to a court at the time of adjudging a case that any of the persons to be fined meets the criteria for performing a work of social service or work of public interest according to this section, and if the person to be fined consents, the court may give an order permitting him to perform a work of social service or work of public interest instead of paying the fine.”

Section7.The dispositions of section 56 of the Criminal Code, which have been amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 15), 2545 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following dispositions:

“Section56.When any person commits an offence punishable with imprisonment or a fine and, in the case thereof, the court will impose imprisonment for a term of not over five years, whether or not the fine will be imposed also, or will impose the fine, if it appears that such person—

(1)has never undergone imprisonment before;

(2)has undergone imprisonment before, but it was for an offence committed through negligence or a petty offence or it was for a term of not over six months; or

(3)has undergone imprisonment before, but he had been discharged therefrom for over five years before committing this offence, and this subsequent offence is one committed through negligence or a petty one;

and if the court has taken into account the age, background, behaviour, intelligence, education, health, mental condition, habit, occupation, and environment of such person, or the nature of his offence, or his remorse and attempt to mitigate the unfavourable outcome that has occurred, or other causes for which mercy should be given, the court may adjudge him guilty but suspend the designation of his punishment or may designate his punishment but suspend the imposition of the punishment, whether it be either or both of the imprisonment and the fine, in order to give him an opportunity to reform himself within the time period to be designated by the court but not over five years from the day the court gives the judgment, in respect of which the court may also designate conditions for supervision of his behaviour.

The court may, as proper for the case, designate one or several of the following clauses as the conditions for supervision of behaviour of the offender according to paragraph 1:

(1)he is required to occasionally report to the officer specified by the court, in order that the officer would conduct interrogation, offer advice, provide assistance, or give warning in regard to his behaviour and occupation as found appropriate, or would arrange for him to perform a work of social service or work of public interest;

(2)he is required to practise or perform an occupation on a regular basis;

(3)he is required to refrain from any association or behaviour which may lead to the commission of a similar offence again;

(4)he is required to receive treatment of addiction to a harmful narcotic, physical or mental impairment, or other illness at the place and for the time period designated by the court;

(5)he is required to receive training at the place and for the time period designated by the court;

(6)he is prohibited from leaving his residence or from entering any place during the time designated by the court, in regard to which an electrical device or any other device which can be used to check or limit travel may be applied also;

(7)he is required to compensate or otherwise remedy the injured party for the injury, according to the agreements between him and the injured party;

(8)he is required to rehabilitate or remedy the damage which has occurred to the natural resources or environment, or to pay damages therefor;

(9)he is required to post a bond in a sum found appropriate by the court for refraining from causing an unfavourable incident or danger to another person or property;

(10)other conditions which the court finds it appropriate to designate for rehabilitation or for prevention of the offender from committing or having an opportunity to commit an offence again, or conditions for remedying the injured party as found appropriate.

As for the conditions which the court has designated in accordance with the disposition of paragraph 2, if the court subsequently learns from an application of the offender, his legal representative, his curator, a public prosecutor, or an officer that the circumstances relating to the supervision of his behaviour have changed, the court may, when the court finds it appropriate, amend or revoke any of those conditions or may additionally designate any of the conditions mentioned in paragraph 2 which have not yet been designated by the court, or if the bond is breached, the provisions of section 47 shall apply mutatis mutandis.”

Section8.The dispositions of section 84 of the Criminal Code shall be repealed and replaced by the following dispositions:

“Section84.Whoever causes another person to commit an offence, whether by employing, forcing, threatening, hiring, asking, or encouraging, or by any other way, is an abettor.

If the offence has not been committed, whether because the abetted refused to commit it or has not yet committed it or because of any other reason, the abettor shall merely be punished with one third of the punishment designated for the offence.

If the abetted has committed the offence, the abettor must be punished as if being a principal, and if the abetted is a person who is not older than eighteen years, disabled person, infirm person, employee or subordinate of the abettor, impoverished person, or person who is required to depend upon the abettor owing to sickness or in any manner, the punishment designated by the court for the abettor shall be increased by one half.”

Section9.The following disposition shall be inserted in the Criminal Code as section 85/1:

“Section85/1.If the person abetted according to section 84 or person complying with the publication or announcement made to the general public encouraging them to commit an offence according to section 85 provides important information which brings to light the offence of the abettor or person making the publication or announcement to the general public encouraging them to commit an offence, and which is of great benefit to the prosecution of the mentioned person, the court may punish him more lightly in any degree than the minimum rate of punishment designated for his offence.”

Section10.The provisions of section 30 of the Criminal Code, which have been amended by this Act, shall also apply to the persons who are undergoing confinement instead of fines on the day of entry into operation of this Act, and if, after the periods of the confinement they are undergoing instead of fines have been calculated according to the new rate, it appears that they have already been confined up to the completion of or beyond the periods so calculated, or in the event that they have been adjudged by the court to a fine not as high as two hundred thousand baht and they have already been confined for a period over one year, they shall be released forthwith.

Section11.The President of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Minister of Justice shall be in charge of the implementation of this Act.

Countersignature
General Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prime Minister

Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: The criteria and procedures for enforcement of fines by means of seizure of property or attachment of claims over property to satisfy the fines have not yet been designated, and the pecuniary rate designated for the confinement imposed instead of fines as in force at present is not consistent with the economic and social conditions that have changed, making it appropriate to clearly designate the described criteria and procedures so that responsible workers would be able to work, and to designate in line with the minimum wage and economic conditions a pecuniary rate for the confinement imposed instead of fines. In addition, the provisions regarding the suspension of the designation of punishment or the suspension of the imposition of punishment, which is a method for rehabilitation of offenders who should not be sent into the penitentiary system, have not yet been applied to persons fined, and persons who have been imprisoned for trivial reasons or are not habitual offenders still have no opportunity to enjoy the suspension of the designation of punishment or the suspension of the imposition of punishment, resulting in there being a large number of short-term prisoners in penitentiaries, making it appropriate to improve the criteria pertaining to the described matters so that they become more suitable. In addition, now persons of physical or mental weakness or persons incapable of resistance have more and more been employed to commit offences. As this does not merely result in injury to the victims of the crimes but also causes the persons who never have had criminal motives before to become criminals and incur punishment and to be likely to fall into danger and encounter trouble with respect to themselves and their families, it is appropriate to designate higher punishment for the abettors in those cases and to establish measures for decrease of punishment in favour of the persons so employed or persons complying with statements published or announced to the general public encouraging them to commit offences, who reveal important information which leads to successful prosecution of the abettors or persons making such publication or announcement. It is therefore necessary to enact this Act.