Criminal law in Thailand Part 22: Search and seizure(part2) - what the police may and

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Dave The Dude

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Criminal law in Thailand Part 22: Search and seizure(part2) - what the police may and may not do

  • Published: 12/09/2010 at 12:00 AM
  • Newspaper section: Spectrum
In previous columns we've talked about circumstances under which the police may search people or property for evidence of a crime. This time we'll assume that the police have the right to search. What procedures must they follow to make sure your rights are protected under Thai law?

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When the police have the right to search a place such as a house they must first show the warrant to the owner, occupier or keeper of the place. If the search is being done without a warrant the officer must give his name and title and the written information discussed last week.
There are situations in which the police may enter without knocking. In "immediate and necessary circumstances", for example, when the police reasonably believe evidence will be destroyed unless they enter immediately, they may do so. Whether entry by the police without knocking was proper or not is determined later by a judge with reference to the particular facts of the case.
If the police are refused entry, or if they have grounds to believe evidence will be destroyed if they wait to be allowed in, they can use force to break in. If there are reasonable grounds to suspect that somebody the police encounter at the place to be searched will destroy evidence or otherwise render the search futile, the person can be put under custody or held and watched by the police until the search is conducted.
If there are grounds to believe that a person or persons at the location to be searched has the evidence on his or her person, the police may search this person, including pockets.
There is no law empowering the Thai police to conduct strip searches. Section 85 of the Criminal Code, moreover, requires searches of the person to be done politely and with due propriety. If a body search is to be conducted on a woman, the person conducting the search must be a woman.
As a general rule, searches must take place during the day, between sunrise and sunset. As you'd expect, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, in the case of an emergency, or to arrest dangerous criminals, searches can be carried out at night.
Also, in general, the police are limited to seizing the persons or items to which the warrant was limited or that evidence that justified a search without a warrant. They can also seize other things they find there, if these things could be seized under another warrant or are obviously part of an illegal activity.
Here's an example. Let's say the police have a warrant to break into the apartment of a known criminal to search for drugs. When they break in they find a small amount of drugs in a spare room. In the same room, however, they find bomb making equipment and several military-grade weapons. Can the police confiscate the bomb equipment and weapons and charge the occupant with illegal possession of these? Yes, because even though they were not mentioned in the warrant, they are obviously part of an illegal activity.
Both Section 157 of the Criminal Code and Section 79 of the Royal Thai Police Act provide for penalties that would apply to police who wrongfully conduct searches. These penalties can include imprisonment.
May evidence obtained in an illegal search be admitted in evidence against the person against whom the search was committed? First, planted or fake evidence is never admissible. Real evidence obtained in an illegal search will not be admissible unless, as is stated in Section 226/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code, "the admission of such evidence will have more useful effect on giving justice than bad effect arisen from an impact on the standard of criminal justice work system or basic right and liberty of people". This means that the judge will, on a case-by-case basis, balance the interests of justice and decide whether or not to admit the illegally obtained evidence.
Next time we'll continue talking about what the police can and can't do in connection with search and seizure - and expand the discussion to explain what you can do if your rights are violated.
 
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