New drug laws: Make punishment fit the crime
Rigid laws with fixed penalties, including death penalty, based on number of tablets will change to make punishment fit the crime.
Rigid laws with fixed penalties, including death penalty, based on number of tablets will change to make punishment fit the crime.
DRUG LAW REFORM
New drug laws: Make punishment fit the crime
8/10/2016
Aekarach Sattaburuth
Putting drug offences into categories offering a range of penalties to ensure fairer treatment for suspects and offenders is the idea behind a new law.
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) yesterday passed its first reading of a draft bill that would put this into law soon.
Thailand has one of world's highest prison population rates and around 70 percent of Thai prisoners are jailed for drug offences (see here).
Government reform efforts are currently underway to deal with this problem (for more on the current international drive to reform drug laws see International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) here).
This new law is part of these reform efforts.
MAKE THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME
The new law on drug offences would make sure the punishment fit the crime.
This is according to Admiral Sitthawatchara Wongsuwon, one of the NLA members who proposed the draft law.
Suspects will be charged and prosecuted according to the quantity of narcotics found in their possession and whether the quantity suggests they had intent to sell under the draft law, he said.
Under the current law, anyone found to have an amount of drugs over a certain limit is deemed to be dealing in drugs (a drug dealer).
Under the proposed law, the accused would be given a chance to prove that the drugs in their possession are not for sale, he said.
According to Adm Sitthawatchara, the draft bill also seeks to adjust penalties for offenses related to the production, importing and exporting of Type 1 drugs -- the most serious variety -- to ensure suspects are prosecuted fairly.
Under the current law, those convicted of such offenses can be punished with life imprisonment, fines ranging from one million baht to five million baht, or the death penalty.
NEW LAW QUESTIONED BY NLA MEMBERS
While NLA members voiced support for the bill, they were skeptical about the proposed changes in penalties.
Some suggested the draft bill seemed to go easy on drug offenders.
Pattharasak Wansaeng, drafter of the bill, defended the changes, insisting that the new law does not go soft on drug offenders.
The quantity of drugs should not be the sole focus of the judiciary, he said.
LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR ONE AND A HALF SPEED PILLS: DISCRETION NEEDED
The new law would allow the judiciary to exercise discretion when sentencing drug offenders.
Mr. Pattharasak cited as an example a drug possession case in which a defendant who came back from Laos was sentenced to life in prison (life imprisonment) for possessing one and a half speed pills.
The judge's ruling was based on the law that treating the suspect as an importer of narcotics, he said.
"The current law doesn't take into consideration what the one and a half pills are for."
"It regards this as trafficking. So be it one pill for personal use or one million pills for distribution, the penalty is just the same."
He said there were various offences related to narcotics, which the proposed law would put into perspective.
FIRST READING PASSED BY OVERWHELMING MAJORITY
Following the debate, 175 NLA members voted to pass the draft bill with four abstentions.
An ad hoc committee was set up to deliberate the proposed law.
Improving the rehabilitation of offenders and tackling drug suppression better is among the key areas slated for .
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1105169/new-fairer-narcotics-bill-passes-first-nla-reading
สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/1107000/new-drug-laws-make-punishment-fit-the-crime
