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A punishment to remember

About 200 motorcycles were confiscated during Sunday night's police crackdown on illegal street racing. They are parked in front of the Phaya Thai police station. Up to 248 youngsters were rounded up in the crackdown. THITI WANNAMONTHA

I think a lot of people will applaud the Dusit district court's action yesterday. Some motorcylists are clearly out of control and they should be kept off the streets until they behave. But can the court really know that all of those punished yesterday are really guilty? Have some innocent people been jailed or sent to remand homes? Is it worth punishing a few innocent people to make our roads safer? That is a question those in law enforcement have to face all over the world. What do you think? What would you tell the parents involved? Read the story and then decide.

For a better understanding of how young people can get involved in a motorcycle racing event, look at these two stories written by a young Thai nicknamed Gor. He wrote a regular column for the learning post when I was the editor and both stories were written for that series:

confiscate - to officially remove or take someone's possessions as a punishment or for legal reasons ถอดจากตำแหน่ง
crackdown - strong action that someone in authority takes to stop a particular activity การใช้มาตราการขั้นเด็ดขาดเข้าปราบปราม
round up - to find and arrest people จับกุม
applaud - to praise a decision, action, idea, etc. ปรบมือให้ ชื่นชม
guilty - having committed a crime มีความผิด
innocent - not having committed a crime บริสุทธิ์ ปราศจากมลทิน
remand home - a place where young people below the age of 18 who have committed crimes or are suspected of committing crimes are kept บ้านเมตตา หรือสถานคุมประพฤติเด็กและเยาวชนที่ทำความผิดร้ายแรง

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One month's jail puts brakes on road racers
POST REPORTERS

The Dusit district court yesterday sentenced 140 motorcycle riders and their supporters to one month in jail for racing on a public road.

The motorcycle riders and their friends, 117 males and 23 females aged over 18, were rounded up at 2am on Sunday while racing on Rama VI road. They were charged with causing a disturbance, organising an illegal race and blocking other cars from using the road.

After pleading guilty, they were sentenced to one month in prison. Almost 200 motorcycles which were confiscated in the police crackdown were seized.

The court ruling left some parents, who crowded into the court, bewildered. Some complained that the punishment was too severe, adding that their children were not criminals.

Ninety of the racers were released on bail and the rest sent to a central prison in Pathum Thani.

The raid also resulted in the arrest of another 108 teenagers, 74 males and 34 females aged 13-17, who were sent to special institutions to undergo a behavioural change programme for five days.

The boys were sent to Ban Metta remand home and the girls to Ban Pranee remand home. All were denied bail.

Several parents were outraged that their children were detained, saying the children were wrongfully arrested.

Some claimed that their children had gone to buy groceries when they were rounded up.

sentenced - given a punishment by a court of law ตัดสิน พิพากษา
charged - officially accused of having committed a crime ตั้งข้อหา
disturbance - an occasion when people behave in a violent, upsetting or noisy way การก่อกวน (ทำให้เกิดความไม่สงบ)
plead guilty - to officially admit to a court of law to having committed a crime รับสารภาพ
bewildered - confused and not certain what to do ตระหนกตกใจ
severe - serious and worrying; harsh รุนแรง
release - set free ปล่อยตัว
bail - money given to a court of law when someone is allowed to get out of prison until their trial whereby the money is kept by the court if the person does not show up for their trial เงินประกันตัว
raid - a sudden action by police officers to arrest people of find illegal things การเข้าจับกุม
undergo - to experience something, especially something that is unpleasant but necessary ประสบ (กับสิ่งเลวร้าย)
denied - refused; rejected ปฏิเสธ
outraged - very angry โกรธแค้น คับแค้น
detained - kept in a police station or prison and not allowed to leave กักขัง ขังตัวไว้

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