Section 133 ter — Child identification of persons
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในกรณีที่พนักงานสอบสวนมีความจำเป็นต้องจัดให้ผู้เสียหายหรือพยานที่เป็นเด็กอายุไม่เกินสิบแปดปีชี้ตัวบุคคลใด
ให้พนักงานสอบสวนจัดให้มีการชี้ตัวบุคคลในสถานที่ที่เหมาะสมสำหรับเด็กและสามารถป้องกันมิให้บุคคลซึ่งจะถูกชี้ตัวนั้นเห็นตัวเด็ก
โดยให้มีนักจิตวิทยาหรือนักสังคมสงเคราะห์ บุคคลที่เด็กร้องขอ
และพนักงานอัยการร่วมอยู่ด้วยในการชี้ตัวบุคคลนั้น
เว้นแต่มีเหตุจำเป็นไม่อาจหาหรือรอบุคคลใดบุคคลหนึ่งได้และเด็กไม่ประสงค์จะให้มีหรือรอบุคคลดังกล่าวต่อไป
ทั้งนี้ ให้พนักงานสอบสวนบันทึกเหตุดังกล่าวไว้ในสำนวนการสอบสวนด้วยในกรณีการชี้ตัวผู้ต้องหาที่เป็นเด็กอายุไม่เกินสิบแปดปี
ให้พนักงานสอบสวนจัดให้มีการชี้ตัวในสถานที่ที่เหมาะสมสำหรับเด็กและสามารถป้องกันมิให้ผู้ต้องหาที่เป็นเด็กนั้นเห็นตัวบุคคลที่จะทำการชี้ตัว
English translation
Where the inquiry official finds it necessary to have an injured person or a witness who is a child not exceeding eighteen years of age identify any person, the inquiry official shall arrange the identification in a place suitable for children and in a manner that can prevent the person to be identified from seeing the child, with a psychologist or social worker, a person requested by the child, and a public prosecutor present during the identification, unless there is a necessity that any one of them cannot be found or waited for and the child does not wish to have or wait for that person any longer, in which case the inquiry official shall record such reason in the investigation file. In the case of identifying an accused who is a child not exceeding eighteen years of age, the inquiry official shall arrange the identification in a place suitable for children and in a manner that can prevent the child accused from seeing the person who is to be identified.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
This section complements the child-questioning regime in Section 133/2 by governing identification (line-up) procedures where a child under eighteen is the identifying victim or witness, or where the accused is a child. It requires a child-suitable place, an arrangement preventing the identified person from seeing the child, and the presence of a psychologist or social worker, a person the child requests, and a public prosecutor, with a narrow exception where one such person cannot be found or waited for and the child no longer wishes to wait, provided the reason is recorded. As a matter of general procedure it operates alongside the ordinary identification safeguard in Section 133, focusing specifically on protecting children during identification.
Why this matters in practice
If a child in your family is asked to identify a suspect, the law entitles the child to a protected setting where the suspect cannot see the child, with a psychologist or social worker and a prosecutor present. A failure to arrange the identification as the section requires can be raised as an unlawful-investigation point, and the Supreme Court has treated compliance with this section as a public-order question that can be raised even late in the case. Parents unsure how to protect a child asked to identify a suspect can book a consultation with a Thai lawyer.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2834/2550 (2007)
A failure to arrange identification of the suspect by a child victim under Section 133 ตรี is a public-order question of law that the accused may raise even at the Supreme Court stage.
The accused argued for the first time on final appeal that the investigation was unlawful because the child victim was not made to identify him under Section 133 ตรี. The Court accepted this was a public-order legal question that could be raised late, and examined the section, which requires arranging a child under eighteen to identify the accused.
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 a child identify a suspect under Thai law?
Section 133 ตรี requires the identification to take place in a place suitable for children, arranged so the suspect cannot see the child, with a psychologist or social worker, a person the child requests, and a public prosecutor present.
Can a failure to follow the child identification rule be raised late in a case?
Yes. The Supreme Court has treated a failure to arrange child identification under Section 133 ตรี as a question of public order that can be raised even at the Supreme Court stage.