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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
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PASSPORT CONTROL
NEWS
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Russian diver’s leg severed by speedboat prop
LIFE
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Enter the Year of the Monkey
Handing over your passport to settle a vehicle damages claim can cause far more problems than foreseen. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot
POLICE CONFIRM WILL HOLD PASSPORTS AS THEY SEE FIT Tanyaluk Sakoot rep orter2 @classactmedia.co.th
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O LICE in Phuket will continue to hold onto foreigners’ passports as long as they see fit while carrying out an investigation – even if for nothing more than dealing with private negotiations for damages arising from a minor car accident, T h e Ph u k e t N e w s confirmed this week. The issue of Thai authorities
holding passports resurfaced after T h e Ph u k e t N e w s recently followed up on a report that police in Patong had held onto a British national’s passport for more than three weeks, without pressing any charges. Eventually, after several phone calls by T h e Ph u k e t N e w s , the claim was quickly settled, and the foreigner was allowed to conduct a visa run so that he may legally continue to stay in the country and work. After initially declining to an-
swer any questions regarding one of his o cers retaining a passport for such a long period without taking any legal action, K athu Police Chief Col Chaiwat Uykam focused his explanation on foreigners facing criminal charges. A passport is the most important document that police can obtain as evidence when a foreigner is suspected or involved in a crime in the ingdom, he said. Depending on the severity of the
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case, police may withhold a passport until the official investigation is concluded and the passport holder is handed over to the court, then the foreigner can get his or her passport back, Col Chaiwat e plained. Col Chaiwat declined to define how long his o cers will hold onto a passport before charges are pressed. We cannot put a time frame on it. It depends on each case, he said. Lt en Tesa Siriwato, Commander of the R egion 8 Police, supported...
SPORT
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