Community service taking hold, says dept

More than 25,000 offenders opted to perform community service in lieu of a fine last year, says the Department of Probation.

In total, 25,732 offenders, mostly convicted for drug, gambling and traffic offences, decided on the community service option.

The amount of time they engaged in community service was equivalent to 645,723 days, or about 322.8 million baht if a value was put on the work, according to Witthawan Sunthornkajit, the department director-general.

He said community service provided an option for offenders, who cannot afford to pay a fine, to settle their punishment. It also helps instill a sense of social responsibility.

Mr Witthawan said some community-service offenders were put to work repairing wheelchairs and old bicycles in a charity project based in Uthai Thani. Once repaired, the wheelchairs were donated to the disabled and the bicycles to underprivileged people and children in rural areas.

The second-hand wheelchairs and bicycles were donated by the public to the probation office in Uthai Thani.

Maneerung Thanachaikhan, a provincial probation officer, said the repaired wheelchairs and bicycles were given away in Uthai Thai as well as the nearby Nakhon Swan and Chai Nat provinces.

Choke (surname not given), 44, said he found himself in court after failing a breathalyser test. A welder by trade, he took part in the project in Uthai Thani.

The court ordered him to pay a 14,000-baht fine, which he could not afford. He chose to do community work for 28 days instead, and has so far worked for five days.