Thai man fights for justice after losing job due to police error in central Thailand

A Thai man is seeking justice after officers at Bang Pa-in Police Station in the central province of Ayutthaya mistakenly made an error and registered him as a criminal. The mistake led to the man being fired from his job.

The 48 year old Thai man, Panya Boonnarong, urged Channel 7 to spread his story and help him seek justice. Panya explained that he, acting on behalf of a company owner, filed a complaint against a 19 year old trainee who had stolen company assets worth 249,170 baht with Bang Pa-in Police Station in 2021.

The trainee then surrendered to the police and promised to return the stolen assets. The thief was charged and went through the legal process until the case was closed.

Panya said he then resigned and moved to work for the two other companies. Everything went well until he changed jobs again. Two days before he was due to complete his probationary period, Panya was fired. He was confused and asked the company why. The company told him that his criminal record showed that he had previously been charged with theft.

Panya insisted to the company that he was innocent and that he had never stolen from anyone or committed any crime in his life. However, the company remained unconvinced and proceeded to terminate his employment.

Panya said that the complaint was filed at Bang Pa-in Police Station, which made him realise that there must be an error in the complaint document. Panya contacted the police and discovered that his 13-digit identification number was listed under the name of the student trainee thief.

Police error

The police admitted the mistake. They apologised to him and deleted the wrong criminal record from the police station’s system. Nevertheless, Panya was not entirely in the clear, for his name still lingered on the Royal Thai Police records.

Panya said he wants the police to take more responsibility for what he has lost because of their mistake. He is now unemployed seeking a new job because of the gaff made by the police.

Panya sought help from the non-profit organisation Saimai Survive, which promised to take up the matter with the Ministry of Justice.

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