Maritime Jurisdiction Dispute: Warship Conflict and Prosecution
The Republic of Singapore, on the occasion of the vessel’s anchoring with its moorings cast, saw Singaporeans ascend onto the warship, resulting in a conflict and fatalities among them on the warship. The Commanding Officer of the warship subsequently apprehended the perpetrators, Singaporeans, and the Kingdom of Thailand intended to prosecute them in Thailand. Upon the warship’s docking at the Naval Base A, the Commanding Officer sought to take the perpetrator into custody for prosecution. Judge Winitchai, Songkhla, was consulted as to which jurisdiction had authority to investigate the case, and regarding the personnel. The act of wrongdoing on the Thai warship, pursuant to Section of the Criminal Code, occurred at the location in the Republic of Singapore. The law stipulates that the act was considered a violation within the Kingdom, provided that the act occurred outside the Kingdom’s territory (Article 2o of the Act on the Procedure of Criminal Cases). Therefore, the application of the Act on the Procedure of Criminal Cases, Section 2o, is applicable if the Commanding Officer of the warship reports the matter to the Songkhla City Police Station, which conducts the investigation, and if the Attorney-General, as the investigating officer, assigns the task of investigation. Furthermore, a similar case is presented, with a precedent judgment number 2670/2535, which adjudicated the matter. Mr. Dam is a fugitive convict, subject to a final judgment sentencing him to life imprisonment.