The National Legislative Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly passed amendments to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act to require harsher penalties on human traffickers, improve inspections and better protect witnesses.
The third reading of the amendment bill passed 160-3 with three abstentions and will take effect once published in the Royal Gazette. An earlier reading was approved 177-0 with five abstentions after being proposed by the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.
Pol Gen Adul Sangsingkeo, the social development and human security minister, earlier said human trafficking was worsening and becoming more complicated, but penalties under existing law were not sufficient deterrents.
Some cases of human trafficking are linked to transnational criminal syndicates. Therefore, the law needed to be amended to address those factors, Pol Gen Adul said.
Changes in the law will allow prosecutors to seek up to life imprisonment and fines of 400,000 baht for those convicted of human-trafficking crimes. Incentives also are included to encourage witnesses to human trafficking to provide information to authorities with caveats that provide greater protection to witnesses, both from outside intimidation and criminal prosecution.
A prevention and suppression committee, chaired by the prime minister, will oversee the law, which also calls for tougher inspections of common offenders, such as factories and the fishing industry.
If human trafficking is found, authorities can order a temporary halt to operations and licences will be suspended immediately.
If a victim of human trafficking is severely injured, those held to responsible can be sentenced to between eight and 20 years in prison and fined 160,000-400,000 baht. An offender can get life in prison if a trafficking victim is killed.
People who provide clues leading to the discovery of trafficking will come under protection from the authorities. No civil and criminal charges will be filed against witnesses, even if they were involved at an earlier stage in the crime.
The amendments to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act came amid pressure from the European Union to comply with European labour regulations in its fishing industry, which has come under repeated criticism for trafficking, most recently this week in a scathing Associated Press investigation that revealed widespread use of slavery by fishing fleets.
The country also is under the microscope in the United States, which is reviewing whether or not to upgrade Thailand from the lowest tier of its annual Trafficking in Persons report. Listed in Tier 3, Thailand faces possible economic sanctions unless it improves its trafficking record.
The US government and major industry groups on Wednesday renewed their call for Thai government to crack down on slavery in its fishing fleets, and to punish people who force migrant workers to catch seafood that can end up in the United States.
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