Chalerm: Death to drug dealers

News > Local News

Published: 7/02/2012 at 12:48 AM
Online news: Local News

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung is backing an amendment to the Narcotics Act to shorten the appeals process for drug offenders sentenced to death and expedite their executions.

Mr Chalerm, who oversees the government's narcotics suppression drive, said on Monday he was discussing the idea with Achporn Charuchinda, secretary-general of the Office of the Council of State.

His proposal covers drug offenders given the death penalty by the Criminal Court. They will no longer be allowed to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal in Regions 1-9 but only to the main Court of Appeal.

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Ian Wensor
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Discussion 22 : 07/02/2012 at 10:10 PM22
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Ramet in Dallas, discussion 11... It would also be an expedient way to get rid of any witness whose evidence would likely put Chalerm's son away for keeps if he or she couldn't be 'persuaded' not to testify or - to testify otherwise... THE WORLD AWAITS THE OUTCOME OF BOTH ISSUES.
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felixqui
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Discussion 21 : 07/02/2012 at 04:40 PM21
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Renaissance, D13

"I watch the TV news. Drug-related crime (burglaries, muggings, gold shop thefts, murders, etc.) is increasing very rapidly. "

You are completely wong. What is true is that more reports are appearing on the news, not that more crimes are being committed. The statistics reveal the truth. The rates are pretty stable.

The news is the most worthless thing you could watch on TV - as we see in this case, it completely distorts the perception of reality. Cartoons are more educational and honest.
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fundeena
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Discussion 20 : 07/02/2012 at 02:55 PM20
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Many Thai people deal in drugs because they are poor and have no job Mr Chalerm.
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pjt
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Discussion 19 : 07/02/2012 at 02:10 PM19
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Leave aside the moral question of whether judicial killing is the correct answer - this should only occur if everyone is equal before the law. The pre-requisites are a court process where you are innocent until proven guilty, an honest and competent police force and prosecution service to investigate and make the case, adequate representation for the accused, and a justice system which cannot be influenced and makes judgements only on the facts of the case - transparently in Thailand this is not the case. The only people who will die here are the poor mules at the bottom in order to make a few headlines and claim the war is a success
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raimund
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Discussion 18 : 07/02/2012 at 12:45 PM18
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Let Chalerm play the tough guy.Maybe this time the big drug dealers should really start to eliminate each other to silence the competition. At the end we will see how many politicians will bite the dust. Do not forget to clean the police stations, a lot of drugs is there in the hands of crooked policemen.
When Chalerms is already at it,change the law for corruption too, death sentence for all cases involving over 500 000 Baht. Anybody left?
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bkk-farang
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Discussion 17 : 07/02/2012 at 11:24 AM17
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Renaissance #13 writes about 60% of inmates are drug dealers. This might be true but I think we should also consider the scale of the crime. Some poor people might smuggle a bag of drugs and make a few thousand baht. I don’t like this and I think they should go to jail, but people make mistakes in their lives and maybe not all of them are really bad guys.
On the other hand some rich people deal with large amounts of drugs only to get richer and they know what misery they bring to individuals, families and the rest of the population. The police should concentrate on these big time dealers and if they are shot – after a conviction – not many people will miss them. Now Chalerm can show us if he dares to go for the big fish.
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bkk-farang
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Discussion 16 : 07/02/2012 at 10:56 AM16
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I have no problem with the (fast) death penalty for criminals which are convicted of hideous crimes, where the conviction is without a doubt. This should include big time drug dealers, terrorists, murders, large scale arsonists, and cop killers even if their fathers are influential politicians.
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ex-pet
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Discussion 15 : 07/02/2012 at 10:16 AM15
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I think public opinion misses a point.
Mr Chalerm is well aware of recent revealed information(BP report) about the effects Ya baa in particular has on the brains of the addicts.
reports about "recovered" addicts of which 70% suffer schizophrenia, some even with permanent brain damage has probably prompted his "bold" statement.

lets not forget that the 2012 drug epidemic is causing havoc in our communities!
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dao
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Discussion 14 : 07/02/2012 at 09:39 AM14
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I feel sorry for the guy who has drugs planted on him by police .That guy is as good as dead .
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Renaissance
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Discussion 13 : 07/02/2012 at 09:04 AM13
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D #3 makes a good point, which I think several others have missed in the article.

I watch the TV news. Drug-related crime (burglaries, muggings, gold shop thefts, murders, etc.) is increasing very rapidly. That affects all of us. In 2 or 5 years daily life could be very dangerous. 60% of prisoners are there because of drug dealing (maybe including drug crimes, I can't remember.) I would prefer to see the emphasis on making punishments extremely draconian with the emphasis on "extremely". We can be soft, but then like by being soft with corruption, the situation will just worsen until the country is forced to implement draconian punishments anyway.
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