Thailand Bail

Thailand Bail won a massive 3900 kilogram (3.9 metric tonnes) drug case in the Criminal Court in Bangkok. We achieved the absolute best decision in the Thai court system – a “yok-fong” decision. This case was very challenging, but our Bangkok lawyers were able to structure the defense narrative in a way that convinced the judges in the court that our client was innocent. With no other defendants in this case, it was even harder for our legal team in Bangkok to convince the court that our client was not guilty. After all, someone had to have been responsible for this container – load of drugs that had been exported from Bangkok, Thailand to Sydney, Australia. After 16 months of preparation and fighting for our client’s innocence, we finally won in trial! Read below for more details. 

Our client is a dual citizen of Australia and Thailand. He also holds residency in a third country that borders Thailand. He fled the civil war in that country back in the 1970’s and settled in Australia. After decades of successfully building up businesses in Australia, he was ready to retire, spending his time between Australia, Thailand and Lao PDR. However, he became the target of a massive AFP (Australian Federal Police) operation. This operation, which was widely reported in the news, involved the import of a container load of drugs into the Sydney Port in Australia. This container of bottled green tea contained 3.9 metric tonnes of methamphetamine precursor, and the AFP seized the shipment and arrested at least 2 individuals in Australia. Later, the AFP contacted the Thai authorities and alerted them that our client was going to be traveling through Bangkok. He was arrested by the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB; Por Sor) and sent to the Bam Bat Prison in Bangkok. He was charged with exporting this massive amount of drugs. 

The lawyers and case managers at Thailand Bail were contacted by a well-known and successful solicitor in Sydney to co-manage this case, and we agreed. We were already aware of the case in Australia, and were confident we could assist here in Thailand. After initial meetings between Thailand Bail’s lawyers and the Sydney-based solicitor, we agreed to work together to fight for our client’s innocence. 

In the early days of the case, we made some very, very important decisions that laid the groundwork for the “not guilty” verdict later. We provided evidence in support of our client during the very important police investigation period. This 84-day period is critical to a case’s success. Our lawyers in Bangkok were successful in providing enough positive evidence to support our client’s case during the Narcotics Suppression Bureau investigation. 

Later, once the case was passed to the prosecutor in Bangkok, we continued our hard work, gathering the facts that would eventually lead to our victory. After over 1 year of preparation, we went to trial. Our lawyers successfully cross-examined the prosecutor’s witnesses and properly prepared our client to give testimony as well. 

After more than 2 months of consideration by the judges in the Criminal Court in Bangkok, they delivered the “not guilty” verdict. This “yok-fong” is a complete dismissal, meaning that based on the witnesses and evidence presented in trial, we proved that our client was not guilty. 

Our client and his entire family is very happy with the decision. For those who have experience with drug cases in Thailand, you will know just how difficult this case was, winning the case against the prosecutor and the huge 3,900 kilograms on drugs. 

Thailand Bail’s Bangkok lawyers and international case managers have decades of experience successfully defending against massive drug cases in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand. If you have a drug case in Thailand and need a capable international legal team, contact Thailand Bail now so we can review the details of your case and provide advice.

As was earlier reported, the lawyers and support team at Thailand Bail won a massive 4,000,000 baht fraud case for a Russian client who had a criminal case in Pattaya. You can check the details of this case here: http://www.thailandbail.com/success-story-12-all-charges-dismissed-for-our-russian-client-accused-of-4000000-thb-criminal-fraud/  We now have an update to share – Thailand Bail AGAIN has won this case in the Court of Appeals, saving our client over 4,000,000 baht in potential damages as well as prison time. We are very happy with the judgment, which was announced in March 2020, confirming our excellent work on the case in the First Court as well as the Appeals Court. Please read below for more details. 

When we won the case in the Court of First Instance, which we attended with our client in Pattaya, the case was dismissed against our client. Our client was immediately able to withdraw her bail money, get her passport returned to her, and was free to leave Thailand. This is the huge benefit of having the case dismissed (yok-fong). It is the best possible outcome. Our client, who was suspected of having defrauded another Russian out of 4,000,000 baht, did not have to pay any money in compensation, and also paid nothing in fines or fees to the court. There was no penalty of prison time, and not even a suspended sentence given. The lawyers and staff at Thailand Bail are very proud of the hard work we put into the trial, and this hard work was rewarded with a very positive verdict. 

After we won the case for our client, the opposing side’s (plaintiff’s) lawyer extended the period to appeal and then appealed the judgment, in which he lost the case in the First Court in Pattaya. It should be noted that the other side’s legal representation uses a similar name as our firm Thailand Bail, but not to be confused with the original and legitimate Thailand Bail. Obviously, the plaintiff’s lawyer wanted to try to prove that he was right, so they appealed the case. Since we were following the case, we found out that the other side appealed, so we also asked for more time to file an objection to the appeal. 

Most Thai lawyers do not tell you that they should file an objection to the appeal if you have a criminal case in the Thai court system. However, it is always best to follow a criminal case in the Thai courts to see if the other side has appealed. Since the other side appealed, we needed time to study his petitions and write our response. We spent around 2 months working on the response, and then filed this with the correct court in Pattaya. After some time, we were told that there would be a judgment day for the appeal. 

Then, in March 2020, we received the excellent news – we won the case again! Our client’s case was dismissed, and she did not have to pay anything to the plaintiff. By this time, the amount that they were trying to recover would have increased at the court’s rate of 7.5% per annum. However, with our second win on this case, we proved that our client was not guilty, despite the fact that the plaintiff did, in fact, pay this amount of money. We were able to prove again that this money never went to our client, even though that was not clear based on the evidence provided by each side. This was not an easy case, but our lawyers were able to show our side clearly to the judges at the court in Pattaya. 

Since Thailand Bail has won this case 2 times, we see no point for the plaintiff to try to beat us in the Supreme Court (saan dika), so this matter is expected to be closed. However, we will follow-up with the court in Pattaya to make sure that within 30 days no extension or appeal are filed. 

If you have a criminal fraud case in Pattaya, Bangkok, or elsewhere in Thailand, contact Thailand Bail to discuss how we can win your case as well. In this case, we were supporting the defendant, but we also have experience prosecuting fraud cases on behalf of our clients. Please see this Thailand Bail success story about how we are successfully prosecuting a 3,900,000 baht fraud case in Phuket against a so-called “lawyer” who stole this money from his own clients, after having received it from the sale of his client’s property in Phuket. To contact Thailand Bail, please send us an email, call us, contact us on Skype, WhatsApp, or Line here: www.thailandbail.com/contact 

Thailand Bail has been having great success this year (2020) in trial, including this very difficult theft case that we successfully defended against in Bangkok. This was the 2nd theft case that our client had been arrested for. We successfully achieved a result of no prison time in the 1st case, but now with the new 2nd case, things looked very difficult. The court could believe that our client was innocent the first time he was arrested for theft, but would the court believe that our client was not guilty a second time? The answer was “yes” as we heard the verdict from the Bangkok Southern Criminal Court on 17 August 2020. During our trial on 01 July 2020, we faced many challenges. When we first entered the court, the court interpreter came to our client and said that “the evidence was very clear that you stole the items, so you should plead guilty.” If you have ever been in a court in Thailand, you will know that this is the favorite thing for certain people to recommend. The lawyers and case managers at Thailand Bail hate when certain people make this recommendation, assuming that you are guilty and that you can be proven guilty. Yes, the Thai courts typically provide a reduced penalty with a guilty plea, but our lawyers believe you should only plead guilty if you are actually guilty or if it beings about a faster or more certain outcome to your case. However, for our client in the Bangkok Southern Criminal Court, we reviewed the evidence, spoke to our client (who insisted he was innocent), and recommended fighting the charges. Pleading guilty to the 2nd theft case would have resulted in a custodial sentence (actual prison time), which was not an outcome our client could live with. Accordingly, we prepared for the trial and fought the charges. 

In trial on 01 July 2020, we successfully showed that one of the witnesses was not able to recount the events of the day accurately. We proved with maps of the shop that another witness was unable to see the theft that had allegedly happened. We also showed that another witness already had a prejudice / bias against our client as this witness had heard about the 1st theft case brought against our client and had told others that our client was a thief. So, from that time onward, every time the defendant entered one of these shops, they assumed he was stealing, even when he was not. We prepared our client for witness examination and cross-examination from the prosecutor. We did many other things that we can share with you if you contact Thailand Bail about your own criminal case in Bangkok or the rest of Thailand. 

On judgment day on 17 August 2020, we were very happy to hear the decision of the judges, in that the judgment was “yok-fong” – a complete dismissal of all charges! Our client, his family, and our lawyers were very happy with the excellent result, especially given the challenges we faced in the Bangkok Southern Criminal Court. 

If you have been arrested in Thailand, need an international law firm to assist, have been accused of theft in Thailand, or any other criminal law question, please contact Thailand Bail for more details on how we can assist. We are always helpful in providing our initial analysis of your case and laying out your options. Unlike many other Thai lawyers, the lawyers at Thailand Bail will recommend what is best for you. Sometimes your criminal matter can be resolved quickly, without the need to wait several months for trial and judgment. If so, our experienced lawyers will clearly explain this option and help you consider all choices accordingly.