Press Release: Samut Prakan Provincial Court convicting and sentencing employer to six years and sixteen months, and a fine of 600,000 baht In human trafficking through forced labour case, and to pay 1,500,000 baht for damages

For immediate release on 14 September 2022

Press Release

Samut Prakan Provincial Court convicting and sentencing employer to six years and sixteen months, and a fine of 600,000 baht

In human trafficking through forced labour case, and to pay 1,500,000 baht for damages

 

On 8 August 2022, the Samut Prakan Provincial Court read the verdict in the human trafficking case in which Ms. Thippaya-apha Yimnian was indicted with the injured party as co-plaintiff for the violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, the Immigration Act. the Labour Protection Act, the Child Protection Act, and the offences against body in the Black Case no. KM 1/2564, Red Case no. KM 1/2565. The court convicted the accused;

  1.  on the offence of human trafficking for detaining or confining, harboring, or receiving any person a child not yet 15 years of age with an exploitation through forced labour, harboring, hiding or in any manner assisting an alien to evade arrest, employing a child not yet 15 years of age to work in violation of the law, being an employer but having failed to make the payment on time and making the payment to other person, an offence against the Labour Protection Act, causing a person to receive grievous bodily harm with permanent disfiguration of face and an abusive act against the child, mentally and physically, and sentenced her to an imprisonment of six years and sixteen months, and a fine of 600,000 baht.
  2. As to the claim for damages as co-plaintiff in the case including the medical costs for treatment of bodily wounds the amount of 1,950,000 baht, the court ordered the accused to provide 500,000 baht for medical treatment, and 550,000 baht for mental trauma.  The court also awarded 500,000 baht for lost opportunity damages due to her loss of income given the disability in her left arm. For the damages for lost opportunity to work for 44 years the amount of 2,640,000 baht, the court awarded 500,000 baht. In total, the accused is held accountable to provide the compensation for physical, mental, and reputational damage of the accused altogether 1,500,000 baht plus 5% interest per annum from 25 October 2021 onward until all the debt is paid off the co-plaintiff. 

This case has started in 2014 when Girl A, from Champasak Province, Lao PDR, was only 10 years old. She and her older brother were lured by a broker to work as homeworkers in a family of rich persons in Samut Prakan. Throughout several years of her work, Girl A was subject to abuse and brutal and inhumane treatment by her employer through various methods including being beaten up, stabbed with scissors, slashed on skin and all over the body causing her to sustain wounds throughout her body. She was also forced to eat animal’s feed and live with pet cats and dogs raised by the employer. It has inflicted on Girl A grievous harm mentally and physically. After five years of grievous pains, physically and mentally, in 2019, she decided to and managed to successfully escape from her employer’s house. As she had no idea how to return to her home in Lao PDR, she was deceived and raped repeatedly by Mr. Kalong Muangchan, a resident of Samut Prakan. Eventually, she was rescued by the police who then referred her to the care of official of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Later on 19 February 2020, the Samut Prakan Provincial Court convicted and sentenced Mr. Kalong to ten years and three months of imprisonment for raping a girl who is yet 15 years of age. Meanwhile, her employer and relatives are being remanded in custody for human trafficking changes (please see News link 1 and News link 2)

 

The Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) has been asked to offer legal assistance to Girl A and has been offering her help including;

  1. Coordinating with official of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to apply for compensation to aggrieved parties in criminal cases since she was subject to physical abuse by her employer and sexual assault by Mr. Kalong. The Ministry of Justice has, however, refused to give her the compensation, a victim of such crime citing that although Girl A had not been involved with the commission of the offence, but given her voluntary and illegal entry to Thailand, she was not considered an aggrieved party and is thus not eligible to the compensation to aggrieved parties in criminal cases. For more detail, please read http://hrdfoundation.org/?p=2326&lang=en HRDF has appealed the order of the Committee to Review the Payment of Compensation to Aggrieved Parties in Criminal Cases and the Committee decided to grant the compensation to the aggrieved party citing that according to the verdict of the Samut Prakan Provincial Court prior to the incidence, Girl A was about ten years old and was sent by her father to work in Thailand. It could not be considered that Girl A had entered the Kingdom illegally. It was decided that the compensation shall be paid to Girl A as compensation for other damage for the amount of 50,000 baht related to the sexual assault.

 

  1. A case was filed with the Labour Court Region 1 for the employer to act in compliance with the order of the labour inspector of Samut Prakan to award the injured party 99,133.32 baht. The Labour Court Region 1 ruled that the employer shall provide Girl A the amount of 11,000 baht. The court essentially found Girl A was employed for homework without any business operation and therefore not entitled to the minimum wage protection pursuant to the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541. Girl A was, therefore, entitled to the wage fixed by her employer at 3,000-5,000 baht per month only. For more detail, please see http://hrdfoundation.org/?p=2774

 

  1. Offering legal assistance and representation to Girl A to file the case as co-plaintiff to hold the employer accountable for human trafficking through forced labour.

 

Ms. Kanjana Akkarachart, Legal Case Manager of HRDF, states that as an injured party in this case, Girl A has suffered tremendous damage which will linger on for a long time. This will affect her living and livelihood in the future as well as her coexistence with other in society. Therefore, in a human trafficking case with a damage claim for the survivor, detail should be properly spelled out as to the concept and the criteria to offer a precedent to concerned agencies including the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, which has the charge over this case. This can ensure that survivors of human trafficking shall be entitled to fair protection. We also demand the revocation of the Ministerial Regulation of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare no. 14 (2012) which sets out an exemption of minimum wage protection for those employed for homework without any business operation since it has made domestic workers as contracted workers unable to receive a fair wage and subject to unfair discrimination which is a violation of the International Labour Organization Conventions and other Conventions to which Thailand is a state party.


 

For more information, please contact

Ms. Kanjana Akkarachart, Legal Case Manager, Anti Human Trafficking in Labour Project

Email: [email protected] 02 277 6882