Section 101 — Sealing or marking seized property
Statutory text (Thai original)
สิ่งของซึ่งยึดได้ในการค้น ให้ห่อหรือบรรจุหีบห่อตีตราไว้หรือให้ทำเครื่องหมายไว้เป็นสำคัญ
English translation
Property seized in a search shall be wrapped or packed in a parcel and sealed, or marked with a distinguishing sign.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 101 secures the integrity of seized property under Chapter 2 (Search) by requiring it to be sealed in a parcel or marked as significant, preserving a reliable chain of identification for use as evidence. It works with Sections 102 and 103, which require seized items to be shown to and certified by the occupier or witnesses and recorded in an inventory. Courts have treated the requirement flexibly for bulky items, accepting photographs as an acceptable form of marking where wrapping and sealing is impractical.
Why this matters in practice
How seized property is secured can affect whether it is reliably tied to you at trial. If officers failed to seal or mark items, or could not properly identify what was taken from where, the evidential value of the seizure may be open to challenge. For bulky items like vehicles, photographs may satisfy the marking requirement. Reviewing the seizure record early helps prepare a defence. For assistance, consider an online consultation with a Thai lawyer.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2892/2536 (1993)
Where seized property is bulky, such as a car and its parts, and inconvenient to wrap and seal, photographing it is treated as marking it with a distinguishing sign in compliance with Section 101.
Because the seized items were a car and car parts, it was not convenient to pack and seal them. The court held that photographing the property counted as marking it with a distinguishing sign, and so complied with Section 101.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5455/2534 (1991)
A deliberate failure to make a search record, to let the occupier and accused verify the items found, and to wrap, seal, or mark the seized property is contrary to Sections 92, 96, 101, 102, 103, and 242.
The accused argued that officers deliberately failed to make a search record, did not let the occupier and accused verify the items found, and did not wrap, seal, or mark the seized property, contrary to Sections 92, 96, 101, 102, 103, and 242, so the items should not be used against him. The decision addresses these recording and marking duties in assessing the lawfulness of the search and the use of the seized items.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
How must police handle items seized in a search?
Under Section 101, seized property must be wrapped or packed and sealed, or marked with a distinguishing sign, so it can be reliably identified as evidence later.
What if the seized item is too big to seal, like a car?
Courts have accepted that photographing bulky items such as vehicles counts as marking them with a distinguishing sign under Section 101, since wrapping and sealing them is impractical.