More than 9.3 million people have had their names removed from police criminal record files, having been found not guilty and acquitted, were fined or were given mild sentences by the courts, according to Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief.

He disclosed that there used to be about 13 million people listed in the police criminal record files and, of the 9.3 million whose names have been removed, about 600,000 have already been notified.

The Royal Thai Police are in the process of creating a website, expected to be launched at the end of this year, which will enable the public to check whether their names are in or have been removed from police records.

For people whose names are still listed, Surachate said that it is because their cases are still pending.

Assistant Professor Dr. Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, law centre director of Thammasat University, said that the clearance from police criminal records will enable those people to apply for and take jobs in the private or government sectors.

Currently, there are three types of criminal record file.

The first is the record of suspects who are facing charges, but have not yet been indicted, or whose cases are still pending in court. This record is confidential and cannot be disclosed to the public.

The second criminal record is for people who have been convicted, but are not considered criminals and were given a one-month jail sentence, were fined, were given a suspended jail term or were found guilty of carelessness. This type of record is also considered confidential and cannot be disclosed to the public.

The type of third criminal record is for those who were convicted and given more than one month in prison, except for offences of carelessness.