Criminal Defence Lawyers in Thailand
From the police station to the courtroom — and the moment that matters most is before you give a statement
From the police station to the courtroom — and the moment that matters most is before you give a statement
Most criminal cases in Thailand are shaped on the first day a statement is taken, not on the day of trial. What is said during the investigation is recorded and can be relied on for the rest of the case, which is why people summoned to a police station are so often at a disadvantage: they go alone, assuming that telling the truth will end the matter. We act both for suspects and defendants who intend to fight, and for injured parties who want the person responsible prosecuted. The work begins by reading the file and the evidence that actually exists, and then saying plainly what shape the case is in — whether to contest it, negotiate, or plead — so the outcome is the best the facts allow.
Service Scope
You have been summoned to a police interview
A summons does not mean guilt has been established. It means someone has made an allegation and evidence is being gathered. What puts people at the greatest disadvantage is giving a statement immediately, before knowing what the allegation is or what is already in the file. You are entitled to be told what you are accused of, to have a lawyer present, and to decline to answer. Exercising those rights does not make you look evasive; it means the statement you eventually give rests on complete information.
Bail turns on more than the amount of security offered
The court weighs the seriousness of the charge, the risk of flight and the risk of interference with evidence alongside the security offered. A well-prepared application is therefore not simply a matter of lodging assets. It has to show that the accused has a settled address, obligations that keep them in place, and no reason to give concern about witnesses. The earlier those documents are assembled, the better the prospect of release at the first hearing rather than the third.
If you are the injured party: conviction and recovery are different things
A criminal prosecution and getting your money back run alongside each other but are not the same. Filing a police report starts the criminal case; it does not automatically return anything. Compensation can be pursued in the civil claim attached to the criminal proceedings or in a separate civil action. Which route makes sense depends on whether the person responsible has assets that can actually be enforced against — something worth establishing before deciding, not after.
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Frequently asked questions about Criminal Law
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Further reading
What to do if you or a loved one is arrested in Thailand — rights, procedures, bail, and key timelines. Written from 39 years of criminal practice experience.
20 min readCriminal CasesReceived an accused-person summons or a witness summons — how to check whether the summons is genuine or fake, how it differs from an arrest warrant, whether you have to go, whether you must give a statement immediately once you go, and what happens if you do not go.
8 min readCriminal Law GuideArrested or charged in a Thai online-fraud or money-laundering case. Where provisional release can be applied for, what security and documents are needed, the most common reasons applications are refused, and what family should do in the first 24 hours.
7 min readCriminal LawDeceived into transferring money, paying for goods that never arrived, or tricked into an investment — what to do in the first hour, how to notify the bank and file an online police report, how this differs from a civil lawsuit, and how frozen funds can be recovered
8 min readCriminal CasesGetting insulted in posts, being smeared in reviews, or having false information shared about you — how to collect evidence, the difference between defamation and computer-related offenses, reporting to platforms, and the line that turns the person who answers back into the one being sued.
8 min read