Crime Victim Compensation in Thailand: Claim Inside the Criminal Case, Sue Separately, or Apply to the State

The core answer

No, you do not always have to start a new civil case. After a crime in Thailand a victim usually has four routes to money, and they can sit in the same criminal file. Which one fits depends on the offence, who is prosecuting, and how much you lost.

The rule (Criminal Procedure Code). Section 43 lets the public prosecutor claim the property or its value for you in theft, snatching, robbery, gang robbery, piracy, extortion, fraud, embezzlement and receiving stolen property. Section 44/1 lets you file your own petition for compensation for harm to life, body, mind, liberty, reputation or property, where the prosecutor is the plaintiff. Sections 40 and 45 keep a separate civil suit open, and section 46 makes the civil court follow the facts found in the criminal judgment.

Our practical view. Decide early. The petition under section 44/1 has a hard cut-off (before witness hearing starts), the civil limitation clock may be running while the criminal case waits, and a payment you want to collect needs a judgment, not a conviction alone. Start collecting evidence of loss on day one, not at sentencing.

This guide is for the victim's side. If you are accused, read the criminal defence guide. For the first step, filing a complaint, see the online scam victim guide and the foreign victim police report guide.

1. What are the routes, side by side?

You can combine routes, but the law blocks double recovery of the same item. If the prosecutor has already claimed the property or its value under section 43, section 44/1 says you cannot petition for that same property or value again.

2. When does the prosecutor claim my property back (section 43)?

Section 43 applies to nine offences: theft, snatching, robbery, gang robbery, piracy, extortion, fraud, embezzlement and receiving stolen property. If you have a right to recover property or the value you lost because of the offence, the prosecutor who files the criminal case is to claim it for you as well.

Section 44 adds the timing. The prosecutor can include the claim in the criminal case, or file a petition at any stage while the case is being heard in the court of first instance. The order is then part of the criminal judgment.

What it does not do: it covers property or value only. Interest, medical costs, lost income and other damages need your own petition under section 44/1 or a civil suit. Ask the prosecutor in writing whether the claim has been included and for what amount, and give them your documents.

3. How does my own compensation petition work (section 44/1)?

Where the prosecutor is the plaintiff, you may file a petition with the court hearing the criminal case, asking it to order the defendant to pay compensation. The statute lists harm to life, body, mind, liberty, reputation or property, caused by the defendant's offence. We read this as covering a case where you have also joined as co-plaintiff under section 30, but confirm with the court how your petition should be filed in your case.

The rules that matter in practice:

• Timing. File before the court begins hearing witnesses. If there will be no witness hearing, file before the court decides the case.
• Treated as a plaint. The petition is treated as a civil plaint, and you are the plaintiff in the civil part. It must give reasonable details of the harm and the sum claimed. If something important is missing, the court may order you to fix it.
• Scope. It may ask only for compensation caused by the defendant's offence. It cannot conflict with the prosecutor's charge.
• Procedure (s.44/2). The court tells the defendant, who may answer. After the prosecutor finishes the evidence, the court may allow you to call witnesses on the amount, as far as necessary, or it may decide the criminal part first and the civil part later.
• Legal aid. If you are poor and cannot find a lawyer, the court may appoint one for you.

Hypothetical example. A shop owner is cheated out of goods worth 300,000 baht by a buyer who gave a false identity, and the prosecutor charges the buyer with fraud. The prosecutor claims the value under section 43. The owner also lost a week of sales and paid a courier to chase the buyer. Those extra items are not property, so the owner files a petition under section 44/1 before the first witness is heard. All figures are illustrative.

4. Should I join as co-plaintiff?

Section 30 lets a victim ask to join as co-plaintiff at any stage before the court of first instance gives judgment. Joining gives you a party's rights in the criminal case. It does not by itself claim money. Compensation still comes through section 43 (prosecutor) or your petition under section 44/1.

We usually consider joining when we want to follow the evidence closely, question witnesses on the loss, or the prosecutor's presentation of the harm is thin. It adds work, and the prosecutor stays in charge of the criminal charge. Ask your lawyer whether it is worth it in your case.

5. When is a separate civil suit better?

Section 40 allows a civil claim connected to a crime to be filed in the criminal court or in a civil court. Section 45 says that a criminal prosecution does not take away your right to sue in a civil court. Section 41 lets the criminal court separate a civil claim if hearing it would delay the criminal case.

A separate suit makes sense when:

• the criminal case may take long, or you miss the section 44/1 cut-off;
• the claim is large or complex, with several heads of loss;
• no one is being prosecuted, or the prosecutor decides not to file;
• you also have a contract claim against a company that the criminal case will not decide.

If a criminal judgment exists, section 46 says the civil court must take the facts as they appear in the criminal judgment. That helps you after a conviction. The civil court still decides liability and the amount under the civil law. Do not assume an acquittal ends your civil claim: what the criminal judgment found, and why, matters. Ask a lawyer to read it.

For how long a civil case takes and where the time goes, see how long a civil case takes in Thailand.

6. How long do I have to sue (limitation)?

Civil Code section 448 sets two periods for a claim in tort: one year from the day the injured person knew of the wrong and who is liable, or ten years from the day of the wrong. The second paragraph adds that if the claim arises from an act that is a criminal offence and the criminal limitation period is longer, the longer one applies.

Practical points:

• The criminal period depends on the offence and its penalty. Check which period applies to your offence and the date the clock started.
• We found nothing in the text we read saying that a police complaint stops the civil clock. Treat the one-year period as running until a lawyer confirms otherwise.
• A claim under a contract, such as an unpaid debt, has its own period. See the guide on collecting unpaid invoices before limitation runs out.

7. Can the state compensate me?

There is a state scheme under the Act on Compensation for Injured Persons and Compensation and Expenses for the Accused in Criminal Cases B.E. 2544, amended in 2016. The Financial Assistance Office for Injured Persons and the Accused in Criminal Cases handles claims, and the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection of the Ministry of Justice is listed as handling document review.

What the law says:

• Who. A person who suffered death, bodily harm or mental harm from another person's criminal offence, and who had no part in the offence. Heirs can claim if the victim dies before payment.
• Which offences. Only those on the list at the end of the Act. It is mostly offences against life, body, sex, liberty and some listed property-with-violence offences. Check the list for your offence.
• What is paid. Medical and rehabilitation costs, a sum on death (capped by ministerial regulation), lost earnings while unable to work, and other harm the committee considers fit. The committee may decide how much to pay, or whether to pay, taking into account the seriousness of the offence and whether you can be compensated another way.
• Deadline. One year from when you learned of the offence (or from the court order or judgment that the defendant was not the offender, for the accused).
• Appeal. To the Court of Appeal within 30 days of the decision.

Official service information says there is no fee, that filing is possible at the office, provincial justice offices and police stations, and that the target is about 21 working days once the document check is done. Required papers include the police report, medical documents, ID, and proof that you were not involved. Police investigators are required to tell the complainant of this right.

This scheme is not a substitute for a claim against the offender. It does not usually cover a pure money loss such as a scam, and the amounts are set by rules, not by your actual loss. Section 5 of the Act says that taking state compensation does not remove other rights you have under other laws.

8. What documents prove my loss?

• Police report, complaint receipt and case number.
• Bank statements, transfer slips, cheques, receipts and invoices.
• Contracts, quotations, chat messages and emails that show what was agreed and what was said.
• Medical records, bills, doctor's certificate and proof of days off work.
• Payslips, tax filings or books showing lost income.
• Repair estimates or photos for damaged property.
• A simple spreadsheet listing each item, date, amount and the document behind it.

Courts and the state office will ask for originals and certified copies. Foreign-language papers will need translation. Keep original files and screenshots with dates.

9. How long does it take, and how do I actually get paid?

We cannot give a reliable time for a criminal case, because it depends on the court, the number of witnesses and whether the defendant fights. The petition under section 44/1 is decided with the case or soon after it, and the court may hear the civil part later (section 44/2). A separate civil suit follows the usual civil timeline.

A judgment is not payment. If the defendant does not pay, you enforce it as a civil judgment: find assets, then have the court officer seize and sell them. The debt collection and enforcement guide explains the steps. If you do not know where the defendant's money or property is, our asset tracing service may help, and a formal demand letter can be a sensible first step in a civil claim. Be realistic: some offenders have nothing to collect.

10. Checklist

1. Ask the investigator whether the case has been sent to the prosecutor, and which charges.
2. Ask the prosecutor in writing whether a section 43 claim is included.
3. Diary the section 44/1 deadline: before witness hearing begins.
4. List every loss and attach a document to each.
5. Decide on co-plaintiff status with your lawyer.
6. Diary the one-year civil limitation date and ask whether a longer criminal period applies.
7. If you were hurt, ask about the state compensation claim within one year.
8. Trace assets early if the sum is large.

Further reading

• Scammed online: how to file a police report to get your money back
• Filing a criminal complaint in Thailand as a foreign victim
• Debt collection, suing a debtor and enforcement in Thailand
• How long a civil case takes in Thailand
• A practical guide to criminal defense in Thailand

You can often claim compensation inside the criminal case, but the section 44/1 petition must be filed before witness hearing starts, so decide on your route as soon as the case reaches court.

We advise victims on claims inside the criminal case, separate civil suits and collection. Initial consultation is free — call +66 92 254 2045 or send us the details. See also criminal cases, personal injury, asset tracing and demand letters.

This guide is published by Suwanvara Law Firm — a Khon Kaen law firm established in 1986. General information only, not legal advice on a specific matter.