News Forum - New draft law will allow ex-cons to expunge criminal records

[Thaiger]

A new draft law will allow people who have been convicted of a crime and served their sentence to wipe the slate clean and start again. In the past ex-cons have found it difficult to find gainful employment after serving their sentence and as a consequence have gone on to reoffend. But if this new bill is passed it will change all that. Chawalit Wichayasut, a Pheu Thai Party MP for Nakhon Phanom in his capacity as vice-chairman of the House committee on justice and human rights, acknowledged the legislative proposal is aimed at improving opportunities for those seeking new […]

The story New draft law will allow ex-cons to expunge criminal records as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[Malc-Thai]

Fantastic..do a crime then do time!  then hey presto nobody will ever know you did a crime. especially employer's 

[Fanta]

1 hour ago, Thaiger said:

there are about 12 million people who have a criminal record

imo, this is probably another backdoor effort to assist convicted ex-politicians and hiso’s return to their former employment portrayed as a genuine effort to wipe the slate clean for the masses. There was also the recent flood of amnesties that slashed sentences especially for ex-politicians faced with serving decades in prison now reduced to 10 or so. Coincidence or business as usual?  

[Cabra]

Given all the paperwork in triplicate that Thailand collects, can you ever really expunge the record

[Shade_Wilder]

 

The posters above make some good points, but while I can't say that they are incorrect, I don't think that they are quite right either.

'Law and Order' go hand in hand with 'Rehabilitation and Punishment', and should be looked at together. I find reading about the Thai system of Justice frustrating at times, alternatively shouting "Lock them up longer!" to "That is WAAAAAY too long a sentence/harsh a punishment!". That said, it seems to work within Thai culture.

Rehabilitation. What would take for you to learn that you had done wrong? In my case, one night in the slammer would be enough for me to know not do that again; how long for you? A night? A week? A year? Learning what one did was wrong is a giant step on the road to rehabilitation. That said, there is also Society's right to extract a little punishment as well; no one, myself included, is ever really happy with the "Wai and 500 Baht" system. 

Punishment. When one examines Thai Crime and punishment closely, there is a pattern; laws are badly drafted and vague, the potential financial penalties outrageous, and the potential sentences draconian. However, rarely are financial penalties fully levied and repercussions for non-payment are lacking, and at the same time there are sentence cut-backs on a regular basis, Pardons and Commutations annually (if not more often), and (seemingly) regular events that clean out the jails.

This is a good thing, maddening as it can be.

The longer that someone stays in Jail, the more likely it is that they are going to re-offend. If you were behind bars for... 10 years, what are you going to do when you get out; apply for and get a job as a Middle-Manager at an international company? 

It sounds counter-intuitive, but Thailand (generally, there are exceptions) does a good thing with its criminals; try them, find them guilty, punish them and then get them the hell out of the Justice system, if possible.

The alternative is an American-style system where humans are placed behind bars for decades and decades and, on the unusual occasions when they get out, are so institutionalized that they often commit another crime and go back in.

As hard as it is to stomach at times, it is better to deal with Law-Breakers leniently and quickly, then get them back into society while they still can make the transition; if you don't do this, then every sentence is a life-sentence.

 

[Stevejm]

50 minutes ago, Shade_Wilder said:

The alternative is an American-style system where humans are placed behind bars for decades and decades and, on the unusual occasions when they get out, are so institutionalized that they often commit another crime and go back in.

Don’t they call that the Prison Industrial Complex where private prison companies have no incentive to rehabilitate prisoners and profit from reoffenders getting locked up again?

[Stevejm]

1 hour ago, Fanta said:

imo, this is probably another backdoor effort to assist convicted ex-politicians and hiso’s return to their former employment portrayed as a genuine effort to wipe the slate clean for the masses. There was also the recent flood of amnesties that slashed sentences especially for ex-politicians faced with serving decades in prison now reduced to 10 or so. Coincidence or business as usual?  

If they have that much influence they will be able to get a job anyway regardless of their record

[Fanta]

18 minutes ago, Stevejm said:

If they have that much influence they will be able to get a job anyway regardless of their record

In politics? I don’t know Thai law but I’d guess not. 

[Poolie]

27 minutes ago, Fanta said:

In politics? I don’t know Thai law but I’d guess not. 

Most dont. Just guess and act suitably outraged. That ought to do it. Quote summat from home.

[Stevejm]

35 minutes ago, Fanta said:

In politics? I don’t know Thai law but I’d guess not. 

No just high flying jobs in private companies

[Grumpish]

Yes and no. Not all records of all offences should be wiped clean and even then only after a period of time(five and a half years in the UK) - for example, if there is no record of it, what is to stop a convicted child sex offender from getting a job working with children?

[Stevejm]

2 minutes ago, Grumpish said:

Yes and no. Not all records of all offences should be wiped clean and even then only after a period of time(five and a half years in the UK) - for example, if there is no record of it, what is to stop a convicted child sex offender from getting a job working with children?

Yes a varied approach should be taken based on the nature of the crime committed.

[Skip]

In the past ex-cons have found it difficult to find gainful employment after serving their sentence and as a consequence have gone on to reoffend. But if this new bill is passed it will change all that.

 

 And now leopards can change their spots...

[Fanta]

1 hour ago, Skip said:

And now leopards can change their spots...

Everyone makes mistakes and some look for an easy buck. It is human nature. To paraphrase Shane_Wilder: the lack of adequate rehabilitation & post prison support services does a disservice to society as a whole and often perpetuates the cycle of crime. Go hungry or sling some rock. That is the choice and reality of life back on the streets for some. 

[Skip]

20 hours ago, Fanta said:

Everyone makes mistakes and some look for an easy buck. It is human nature. To paraphrase Shane_Wilder: the lack of adequate rehabilitation & post prison support services does a disservice to society as a whole and often perpetuates the cycle of crime. Go hungry or sling some rock. That is the choice and reality of life back on the streets for some. 

Ah... poor lost souls... what about those that choose not to commit criminal acts... they are the pillars of society... you want to fix the broken and I want to fix it so there are fewer broken to begin with.

[Fanta]

1 hour ago, Skip said:

Ah... poor lost souls... what about those that choose not to commit criminal acts... they are the pillars of society... you want to fix the broken and I want to fix it so there are fewer broken to begin with.

So get to it. 

[HiuMak]

On 6/16/2022 at 12:28 PM, Malc-Thai said:

Fantastic..do a crime then do time!  then hey presto nobody will ever know you did a crime. especially employer's 

It is like buying a used car without service records. You take the risks

[Rookiescot]

On 6/16/2022 at 12:26 PM, Shade_Wilder said:

As hard as it is to stomach at times, it is better to deal with Law-Breakers leniently and quickly, then get them back into society while they still can make the transition; if you don't do this, then every sentence is a life-sentence.

I agree with this for low level crimes. But serious crimes should keep that person out of society for a long time.

[Stevejm]

1 hour ago, Rookiescot said:

I agree with this for low level crimes. But serious crimes should keep that person out of society for a long time.

That’s reflected in sentencing policy isn’t it but if people who have served their time are prevented from becoming a contributing member of society due to their record it defeats the object doesn’t it?

Edited June 19, 2022 by Stevejm

[Fanta]

8 minutes ago, Stevejm said:

That’s reflected in sentencing policy isn’t it but if people who have served their time are prevented from becoming a contributing member of society due to their record it defeats the object doesn’t it?

Good point. Do the crime and pay the time is fair but when does the time actually end? Isolation from society is replaced by isolation from employment.  There is also the forgiveness aspect and social stigma of holding someone forever accountable for a misdeed. Everyone makes mistakes. 

[Rookiescot]

3 minutes ago, Stevejm said:

That’s reflected in sentencing policy isn’t it but if people who have served their time are prevented from becoming a contributing member of society due to their record it defeats the object doesn’t it?

As I said I agree with most of what you wrote.

I will add one more thing though. Repeat offenders should receive longer sentences for subsequent crimes. At the moment many low level criminals regard prison as an occupational hazard not a deterrent. Short sentences with rehabilitation is the way to go with many people and has a proven success rate.

However if repeat offenders are failing to respond to the rehabilitation then its wasted money and effort. 

[HolyCowCm]

6 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

I agree with this for low level crimes. But serious crimes should keep that person out of society for a long time.

But in many cases defamation is a serious crime here to where it shouldn't be.

[Stevejm]

27 minutes ago, Transam said:

They are playing with fire, same as the marijuana thing, yet they still want farang folk to report every 90 days, to me that is being tagged..................

After successfully doing the 90 day report through the app this time that is a minor inconvenience to me.

[HolyCowCm]

1 hour ago, Transam said:

They are playing with fire, same as the marijuana thing, yet they still want farang folk to report every 90 days, to me that is being tagged..................

 

Yeah, sounds like beat and rape a 90 year old woman, serve your time get your record cleared, but be a nasty foreigner and you must be monitored. As stated in a post up above, this might just be the golden egg card for the privileged to clear their slate and sue anyone for defamation who calls them a spade when they have been reborn into a heart. Maybe the powers that be also know that when they finally have to get out, there will more than likely be law suits and charges coming their way if they cannot extend a life long amnesty for themselves..

 

[Stevejm]

3 hours ago, Transam said:

Does that work for everyone now, well it has been around for a very long time with oodles of problems, but as I said, we still have to do it, we're tagged..............?   

I could respond to that but it’s off topic so I won’t