THAILAND‘s Interior Ministry drafted an amnesty bill for illegal firearms owners, which is expected to be approved by the Cabinet.
The bill was designed to lessen gun crime and illegal firearms in the country.
It was already submitted to the Secretariat of the Cabinet and will be included on the next meeting agenda.
Under the bill, owners of illegal firearm, ammunition, and imitation weapons are required to submit them to the local registrar within four months after the measure has been announced in the Royal Gazette.
The firearms then become the property of the state.
Owners will not be charged with a crime after voluntarily surrendering the illegal firearms.
The Interior Ministry will be tasked with storing or destroying them.
Recent data showed that out of the 10.3 million guns in Thailand, only 6.2 million are registered. This means around 40 percent of civilian firearms in the country are illegal.
