House arrest of the bride and groom at a restaurant may be subject to criminal prosecution

Translation:

The wedding day is a momentous occasion, yet it turned out to be a bittersweet memory when the newlywed couple, right after their wedding celebration, was "detained" all night by the very restaurant that organized the wedding. The restaurant believed that the couple had not paid the remaining amount in the wedding service contract, while the couple argued that the restaurant had not provided the services as agreed in the contract, hence they did not pay.

The aforementioned behavior of the restaurant staff may be subject to criminal prosecution under the provisions of Article 123 Criminal Code 1999 for the offense of illegal detention. Specifically, Article 123 stipulates:

Article 123. Offense of illegal detention

1. Any person who unlawfully detains another shall be subject to warning, non-custodial reform for up to two years, or imprisonment from three months to two years.

The act of illegal detention is understood as performing actions that obstruct, deprive others of their freedom of movement and activity contrary to legal provisions regarding the grounds, authority, and procedures. Only certain subjects under specific conditions permitted by law are entitled to restrict the physical freedom of others. These include emergency arrests; detention of suspects, defendants for temporary detention; arresting individuals caught in the act of committing a crime or being sought under the Criminal Code or administrative detention. In the incident of detaining the bride and groom above, the individual locking the door and preventing their departure violated legal provisions.

The restaurant's objective to demand contract payment does not fall under permissible scenarios for such detention. The restaurant could have requested the couple to pay the contract amount or filed a lawsuit to claim this money.

Although the consequences of this incident were not severe, with the couple only wanting an apology from the restaurant for their actions, it is crucial to prevent unfortunate outcomes given that similar illegal detention cases still occur. Citizens need to proactively understand legal regulations and receive better legal education to recognize unlawful behaviors.

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