BOT rejects claim that defaced banknotes not legal currency
Banknotes that have been stamped or defaced by writing are still legal currency, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said on Tuesday (August 25).
The clarification came after a Facebook user claimed that under the lese majeste law (Section 112), it was illegal to use stamped banknotes and advised people to exchange them as soon as possible.
Section 112 of the Criminal Code states that "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years."
However, the BOT official said that while stamped-on banknotes remain legal “we do not recommend people use them because it is hard to check whether the banknote is real or fake". He urged people not to stamp or write messages on currency, adding that this would save BOT budget and resources used to remove damaged banknotes from circulation and replace them with new ones.
"If people receive [damaged] banknotes, please exchange them at any branch of the Government Savings Bank and other commercial banks nationwide," he said.