Premchai convicted of bribery in poaching case, handed another year in jail

[webfact]

Premchai convicted of bribery in poaching case, handed another year in jail

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

Construction tycoon Premchai Karnasutra was sentenced to one year in jail on Tuesday after being found guilty of trying to bribe officials while being arrested at the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi early last year.

 

The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 7 acquitted Premchai's aide Yong Dodkhruea of bribery, defined in law as inducing officials to do, not to do or to delay their duties, and punishable with a maximum jail term of five years and/or fine of Bt10,000.

 

The one-year jail term for the powerful and well-connected president of Italian-Thai Development company will be added to the 16-month prison term he was handed by Thong Pha Phum Provincial Court on March 20 after it heard the poaching case against Premchai and several accomplices, including Yong.

 

In that lawsuit, Premchai was given six months for carrying firearms in public without permission, eight months for “aiding others in hunting game in a wildlife sanctuary without permission” and two months for possessing the carcass of a protected species – a Kalij pheasant – without permission.

 

Yong was jailed for 13 months for carrying a weapon and illegally possessing the carcass of a black leopard.

 

Two other defendants, both of whom worked for Premchai, were also convicted of related crimes. Premchai’s driver Thanee Thummart was sentenced to two years and 17 months in prison for several offences, including possession of the black leopard’s carcass and hunting inside a wildlife sanctuary.

 

Premchai’s cook Natee Riemsan received a suspended four-month jail term and was fined Bt10,000 for possessing the leopard carcass.

 

The Thong Pha Phum court also ordered Premchai and Thanee to pay Bt2 million plus 7.5 per cent annual interest in compensation to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, which oversees the Thung Yai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary. Premchai, Yong and Thanee are now out on bail pending a possible appeal. The Department of Appellate Litigation Region 7 in May appealed against the first court’s decision, saying Premchai should have been punished for other offences too.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30370887

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-06-11

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[seajae]

driver and cook will be getting nice bonuses for taking the blame for their boss but good he got another 12 months added onto his jail time

[Mavideol]

somebody must be pissed at him, envelope not thick enough, quite sure he's not part of Cha Cha inner circles otherwise he would (happily) jumping around

[sammieuk1]

Just one question when is he actually going to start any sentence????

[rkidlad]

He's been released on 200,000 baht bail. Sentence him to all the time in the world; as long as he can buy his way out, he will. 

[ezzra]

Every man and his dog in this country knows that this guy is the main culprit, the instigator and the shooter of the animals, why would he otherwise in a hunting party if not to shoot at helpless animals? but he managed to wiggle and water his culpability down to almost nothing so i'm happy that he now got this one year extra to his sentences...

[JAG]

2 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Just one question when is he actually going to start any sentence????

A good question - perhaps when the "right person" has "acquired sufficient influence" to take over his business assets?

[darksidedog]

18 minutes ago, webfact said:

Premchai, Yong and Thanee are now out on bail pending a possible appeal.

I am sure I am not alone in being convinced that one way or another this fat dog will never serve a day of any of the sentences behind bars. Money talks way too loud here and there is never any true justice for the rich.

[Chazar]

16 minutes ago, seajae said:

driver and cook will be getting nice bonuses for taking the blame for their boss but good he got another 12 months added onto his jail time

That he  will never  serve.

[ThreeEyedRaven]

Well, there is one set of rules for poor people picking mushrooms and another set for those with heaps of money. Disgraceful as it is, that is Thailand. Premchai deserves to spend time in jail, but like others of his ilk, he will never even set foot in the jail, let alone serve out his sentences.

[Vacuum]

Most likely, he'll pay bail money and appeal the verdict.

[AhFarangJa]

It is all one big circus. Give him all the extra sentences you want. Everyone knows he will not spend one hour behind bars. Lip service at best. Appeal, Bail, Appeal, Bail, Appeal, Bail, until it gets lost in the mists of time.........

[outsider]

Wow, an tycoon (and safe to assume he's from the 'elite' circle?) being prosecuted. He must have properly pissed someone off. Still, it remains to be seen if he will really see the interior of his prison cell. Too early to clap for justice, me thinks.

[PETERTHEEATER]

I was happy to see 'suspended sentence' then my wife told me that doesn't mean execution by hanging.....????

[tubby johnson]

Silly charade.

 

This monster will never spend a second behind bars. The dust beneath his feet, his underlings will take the blame.

 

The cops arrest him. The cops save face.

The media scream "prosecute him!". The media save face.

The judge sentences him. The judge saves face.

 

It's all for show to hoodwink the common folk.

[BobBKK]

And how many days so far has he spent IN jail?  oh, wait, he's rich while the old couple who took some mushrooms were poor and ended up spending years inside

[nahkit]

I know it's been explained on thaivisa before but I've forgotten how it works that you get sentenced to 2 years and 17 months rather than 3 years 5 months?

[upena]

Bail and appeal and never see the inside of a cell

[SABloke]

17 minutes ago, nahkit said:

I know it's been explained on thaivisa before but I've forgotten how it works that you get sentenced to 2 years and 17 months rather than 3 years 5 months?

Well, you see, a year is a year and a month is a month. They are different things and treated as such. So if you're sentenced to 1 year in prison then you spend 1 year in prison, but If you're sentenced to 12 months in prison then you spend 12 months in prison. Now say you get an additional 3 years added onto your 12 month sentence. Since you can't mix unlike terms, you will now serve 3 years and 12 months. Since it's illegal to question the verdict of the judge, we just follow the original terms he used.

 

It's all simple maths really. 

[Wilsonandson]

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

somebody must be pissed at him, envelope not thick enough, quite sure he's not part of Cha Cha inner circles otherwise he would (happily) jumping around

Well, it was all a matter of time for the greedy little pig. Not sharing the trough. 

[connda]

It ain't over until after the Appeals Court rules.  
My guess is that all the charges get dismissed other than the bribery.
The bribery charge.  May go something like this: "Mr Premchai is an outstanding member of the community and has never been convicted of bribery before. Therefore, he's convicted and sentenced to one year in jail - jail term suspended."

Wagers anyone?  Just kidding.  Waging is illegal and we'd all be swiftly convicted, sentenced, and jailed.

[connda]

1 hour ago, rkidlad said:

He's been released on 200,000 baht bail. Sentence him to all the time in the world; as long as he can buy his way out, he will. 

About 6450 USD.  A bond would cost 10% soooo 645 USD or 20,000 THB to stay out of jail.  Doubt if Premchai needs a bail bond.  

[Megasin1]

just how many leopard skins were there? it seems they all had one each.

[Artisi]

10 minutes ago, SABloke said:

Well, you see, a year is a year and a month is a month. They are different things and treated as such. So if you're sentenced to 1 year in prison then you spend 1 year in prison, but If you're sentenced to 12 months in prison then you spend 12 months in prison. Now say you get an additional 3 years added onto your 12 month sentence. Since you can't mix unlike terms, you will now serve 3 years and 12 months. Since it's illegal to question the verdict of the judge, we just follow the original terms he used.

 

It's all simple maths really. 

One of the best explanations ever given to such a simple problem. It's amazing someone didn't discover and address this previously but guess people have simply over-looked the like term rule in their confusion.

[johng50]

2 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I am sure I am not alone in being convinced that one way or another this fat dog will never serve a day of any of the sentences behind bars. Money talks way too loud here and there is never any true justice for the rich.

Exact, look at the red bull boss, in a few years he will be exonerated of crimes as the

time limit to bring him to justice will expire, and still thailand does nothing to bring him

to justice. Im quite sure this fat pig will eventually offer to donate huge sums of money 

to orphans or hospitals the homeless etc and be set free on good behaviour.

[herwin1234]

As usual the extreme bitter and cinical farang comments, i wonder why they all stay in a country they CHOSE to live in.

i though applaud the Thai officials for arresting him, NOT taking a bribe, and convicting him. Good job, Black Panthers, for protecting the environment and wildlife animals. Thumbs up.

[Pedrogaz]

He'll never see the inside of a cell....this is all pantomime.

 

As Bob Dylan sang about America in Hurricane:

".....really makes me feel ashamed,

To live in a land,

Where justice is a game."

 

And, say what you like, the US is the only country that looks up some of its rich evil doers.

[nahkit]

1 hour ago, SABloke said:

Well, you see, a year is a year and a month is a month. They are different things and treated as such. So if you're sentenced to 1 year in prison then you spend 1 year in prison, but If you're sentenced to 12 months in prison then you spend 12 months in prison. Now say you get an additional 3 years added onto your 12 month sentence. Since you can't mix unlike terms, you will now serve 3 years and 12 months. Since it's illegal to question the verdict of the judge, we just follow the original terms he used.

 

It's all simple maths really. 

Hope I never have to go to jail here, my brain couldn't stand it.

[yellowboat]

The embarrassment he is receiving now, and future loss of income from those who might not allow fat government contracts go his way, is the only justice that is probable.  If the Cha Cha government is as fragile as predicted, he could become an scapegoat and do time.  Few on this forum want to see either fat cat succeed.   

[Sydebolle]

While one part of the government is nailing him additionally for whatever with extra jail sentence which he never will start, another government agency is giving his company billions of Baht contracts. Some of the billions possibly flow back to the government officers deciding on the contract and the rest should be more than enough to cover the bail.