Court convicts, fines parents for letting children race in Samut Prakan
The Criminal Court found the parents of 10 underage youths guilty of dereliction of duty after their children were caught racing on Samut Prakan roads recently.
Assistant National Police chief Pol Lt-General Samran Nuanma said on Thursday the 10 parents were found guilty of violating Article 26 (2) of the Child Protection Act of 2003 by failing to prevent their children from racing on roads.
Samran did not elaborate on when the children were detained and when the court issued the ruling.
He said each parent was initially fined 10,000 baht but all the defendants pleaded guilty, so the court reduced the fine to 5,000 baht.
Samran said the reason he was making the case and the verdict public was to warn other parents that they had a duty to ensure their children behaved well. The act empowered the authorities to punish parents for crimes committed by those under 18.
Samran said the 10 children had recently been rounded up by police along with 22 other youths, who were over 18, for racing on roads in Samut Prakan’s Phra Samut Chedi district at night.
Samran said the 22 older youths were fined 10,000 baht by the court and were given suspended three-month imprisonment.
Samran said the 10 underage road racers and their parents were also taken to the Children and Juvenile Court and the court would work with the parents to draft a rehabilitation plan for the 10 children so that they would not commit the same crime.
