A Lao man is petitioning the Justice Ministry against the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) for selling his car, which the agency had impounded as part of prosecution efforts against him on a drug offence, even though the court eventually dropped the charge.
Mai Wongwiangkham, 55, sought legal help from lawyer Ratchaphol Sirisakhon after the drug charge against him was dropped by the Criminal Court.
The ONCB charged Mr Mai, a Lao tour guide, with possessing 14 kilogramme of heroin that he was accused of bringing into the kingdom while driving to Nong Khai province to pick up Thai tourists bound for Laos in 2016.
Mr Mai, who protested his innocence, was detained at Klongprem Central Prison for three years until the Criminal Court dropped the charge against him, a decision also upheld by the Appeal Court.
The court also ordered that the ONCB return his Chery sedan, valued at about 350,000 baht, which the agency impounded during the investigation. Mr Mai said he owned the car outright.
However, after his release from prison, he was told the agency had sold his car for 20,000 baht.
Outraged, Mr Mai said the sale was unbelievable. He insisted the ONCB had no right to put his car up for sale when the court had cleared him of the legal charge. He did not accept the 20,000 baht and turned to Mr Ratchaphol for legal assistance.
"I've done nothing wrong. It makes no sense that I should lose anything that belongs to me, and no one is taking any responsibility for what happened to me," he said. "It's plainly unfair."
Mr Ratchaphol said he would take Mr Mai to the Justice Ministry on Tuesday to petition against the car sale order. The issue, he added, has caused his client distress and tarnished the country's image.