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[H812]How Not To Get Arrested

by Lar, Lar

Thai law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; however, NGOs and legal organizations continue to report that some members of the police occasionally torture and beat suspects to obtain confessions. During 2004, there were newspaper reports of numerous cases in which citizens accused police of using brutality, threatening false charges, and extorting bribes. Investigations were undertaken in most of the cases, including several in which the accused police officers were suspended pending the results of internal investigations.

A Thai senator, testifying as a character witness at the trial of four Muslim suspects accused of membership in Jemaah Islamiya, said that while in police custody bags were put over the suspects' heads, and they were beaten on the back and the abdomen. The four were acquitted by the criminal court in June and released from custody. Police opened an internal investigation, but at year's end no criminal charges had been filed.

On October 15, in Tak Province, a police officer said to be drunk at the time forced his way into a home, threatened and beat an older woman, and allegedly tried to rape an 18-year-old Burmese migrant worker. The policeman reportedly had previously extorted money from the girl. The two women returned to Burma, but a complaint was lodged on their behalf with the NHRC.

In March 2004, five suspects in the 2004 Narathiwat military camp raid alleged that police beat and administered electric shocks to them in order to obtain confessions. The suspects filed a formal complaint with the Ministry of Justice through their lawyer, Somchai Neelapaichjit, who subsequently disappeared and was presumed dead. Police opened an internal investigation of the officers suspected of abuse, but at year's end no criminal charges had been filed.

There were no reported developments in the internal police investigation into the November 2004 claim by a married couple that they were beaten and robbed while under detention for 102 days without charge at the Lumpini police station in Bangkok.

In November 2004, police in Ayutthaya Province reportedly beat and applied electric shock to a man's genitals to coerce a confession after arresting him for suspected robbery; 23 members of the police were transferred to Bangkok in connection with the incident, pending an internal police investigation. In December the complainant reportedly withdrew his complaint following an out-of-court settlement.

Have fun on your holiday ? but don't do anything stupid. Check the laws in Thailand before you go ? they may be different than your home country. You don't want to spend you holiday in a Thai prison.

If there is no safe area to pull over, slow your car to a speed that is below the speed limit; put on your emergency flasher to let the police officer know that you are going to pull over and at night, turn on the interior dome light so the police officer can see that you are not trying to hide anything or reach for a gun; pull over as soon as you come to a safe area or at the next exit if you are on a highway; and keep your hands on the top of the steering wheel.

If you fail to stop, your problems will seriously escalate. You may now have given the police probable cause to search your car and find your drugs. It is extremely unlikely that you will get away. The probable result is that there will be violence. If you are not shot and possibly killed by the police, a police officer may be injured or killed and you will be looking at substantially more time in prison.

Even if you stole a car, have drugs for personal use, or you're a drug dealer with a large quantity of drugs in the car, you're far better off pulling over.

A drug lawyer may even be able to get the charges dismissed if it can be proved that the police officer did not have probable cause to make the stop or search your car. Many times, police officers will not have probable cause to search your car even if they had probable cause to make the stop.

After stopping you, the police officer will look for probable cause to search your car. Failing to obtain probable cause, many police officers will simply ask for permission to search the car.

Do not give the police officer permission to search your car. You are not required to give permission. If you do not give permission to search your car, the police officer might go ahead and search anyway but if the police officer does not have probable cause to make the search, anything found can be excluded as evidence against you at trial. If you do give permission, anything found can be used as evidence against you.

Do not talk to the police officers, except to provide your name. Do not give any explanations in an attempt to avoid arrest. To your surprise and your lawyer's dismay, your explanation will accomplish only two things. It will give the police officer probable cause to search your car and probable cause to arrest you.

If you are arrested, you will be read your Miranda rights. Among other things, the Miranda warning tells you that you do not have to say anything and that you have the right to consult with a lawyer and to have a lawyer present during questioning. There is a good reason the police have to tell you this. Don't say anything except "I don't want to say anything without a lawyer and I want a lawyer now".

Article Source : The Cheapest Way To Travel

About Author

Both Lar & Philip L. Franckel, Esq. are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Lar has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Credit Cards and Hotels and Hostels. Larry Westfall is a frequent traveler to Pattaya and owner of Submitted by:. Lar's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.

Philip L. Franckel, Esq. has sinced written about articles on various topics from Auto Insurance, Criminal Defense Law and Sports Car. Philip L. Franckel, Esq. is a at www.1888DrugCrimes.com. Philip L. Franckel, Esq.'s top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.