Thailand Passes Bill Granting Sex Offenders Voluntary Chemical Castration

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Thailand Passes Bill Granting Sex Offenders Voluntary Chemical Castration

The government of Thailand has already passed a bill for sex offenders that allows voluntary chemical castration. This bill, which received the nod by the lower house back in March this year, was late approved on July 11 by 145 senators, with two abstentions.

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In an attempt to fight sex crime, the Thailand government is on the verge of implementing chemical castration, which means the sex offenders will have the right to choose the procedure in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.

The government of Thailand has already passed a bill for sex offenders that allows voluntary chemical castration. This bill, which received the nod by the lower house back in March this year, was late approved on July 11 by 145 senators, with two abstentions.

However, it still needs another house vote, following which the royal endorsement as well before it becomes official. The bill will turn into law only after it is published in the Royal Gazette, at a date to be declared by the cabinet soon.

Understanding Thailand's Chemical Castration Bill

Under this new bill, different medications can be prescribed only after the physical approval of an internal medicine specialist and a psychiatric specialist and with the consent of the offender in question, as per a report in TimesNow.

Certain sex offenders deemed at the risk of committing similar offences might be given the option to receive injections that lower their testosterone levels in exchange for shorter jail time, providing they have the approval of two doctors, the bill stated.

These measures can also be applied to offenders after they complete their sentences or those in rehabilitation to prevent a repetition of the offence, reports claimed. Per the bill, the offenders would be monitored for 10 years and required to wear electronic monitoring bracelets.

Out of the total 16,413 convicted sex offenders released from Thai prisons between 2013 and 2020, there were 4,848 who committed the crime again, as per the data from the corrections department figures.

If the Thailand government passes the bill, it will join a small group of countries that use chemical castration. Those countries are-- Poland, Estonia, Russia and South Korea, plus some American states.

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said on Tuesday that he wants the law to be passed as soon as possible. "I don't want to see news about bad things happening to women again," he stated.

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