Thailand's 'jet-set' monk sentenced to 114 years in prison

A former Thai Buddhist monk who provoked outrage with his lavish lifestyle was sentenced on Thursday to 114 years in prison after a court found him guilty of fraud, money laundering and computer crimes.

Wirapol Sukphol, who was seen in a YouTube video in 2013 holding wads of cash on a private jet, returned to Thailand in July 2017 after being extradited from the United States where he had fled.

Wirapol, formerly known by his monastic name Luang Pu Nenkham, was expelled from the monkhood in 2013 after the video surfaced. He was accused of having sexual intercourse - a grave offence for monks - with an underage girl, among other charges.

He later fled to the United States.

A criminal court in Bangkok sentenced Wirapol to 114 years in prison though he will only serve 20 years because Thai law stipulates that is the maximum for someone found guilty of multiple counts of the same offence.

"He committed fraud by claiming to have special power to lure in people and he also bought many luxury cars which is considered a money-laundering offence," an official at the Department of Special Litigation told Reuters. 

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The official declined to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

"The court found him guilty of multiple offences which resulted in a 114-year jail term when combined, which means he will actually serve 20 years in jail," he said.

Neither Wirapol nor his lawyer were available for comment.

Wirapol faces separate charges of child molestation and child abduction. A verdict in that case is expected in October.

Wirapol's high-profile case highlighted a series of sex and money scandals that have rockedThailand's Buddhist clergy in recent years, resulting in calls for reforms of religious institutions.

The military government that came to power after a 2014 coup has stepped up efforts to clean up Buddhism by arresting monks involved in corruption scandals and through the introduction of a bill that reduces the influence of Buddhism's Sangha Supreme Council - the governing body of Buddhist monk

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

Not a Red or Yellow, but a Black Day in #Thailand

Yingluck sentenced to five years in prison

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled unanimously to sentence fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to five years in prison.

The fugitive politician was convicted of negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme prior to the 2014 coup.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders ruled that Yingluck had acknowledged the illegality of government-to-government rice deals but refused to cancel a contract with a Chinese state enterprise.

The court ruled that the deal involved ill-gotten gains and the dishonest discharge of official duties.

Not a Red or Yellow, but a Black Day in Thailand

“The defendant was found guilty of the alleged offences under Section 157 of the Criminal Code and Section 123/1 of the Organic Act on Counter Corruption 1999 and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment,” a statement from the court read.

The court will issue another arrest warrant against Yingluck, after an initial warrant was issued when she failed to appear before the court on August 25, when the verdict was originally scheduled to be read.

Source - TheNation

#Thailand - ‘Clear evidence’ against ‘Patt’ as second summons issued.

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THE NARCOTICS Suppression Bureau (NSB) has issued a second summons for actress Napapa “Patt” Tantrakul to hear charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The actress must turn herself in by Monday or investigators will seek an arrest warrant, a source at the NSB said on Thursday.

Investigators had evidence that the actress possessed money that her husband, motorbike racing star Akarakit “Benz Racing” Worarojcharoendet, received from a network led by alleged Lao drug kingpin Xaysana Keopimpa, the source said.

Akarakit allegedly received money from Natthapol Nakkham, a suspect connected to Xaysana’s alleged network who has already been arrested, and transferred about Bt1.9 million to Napapa.

Although most of the money was sent to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), the alleged crime had already been committed, prompting investigators to apply for an arrest warrant on Tuesday, the source said. However, a criminal court judge ruled that Napapa had a permanent address and was not a flight risk, so a summons for her to hear the charges was appropriate. The first summons called for her to surrender herself yesterday but she failed to do so, the source said, so investigators secured a second summons that would require her to show up by Monday or an arrest warrant would be issued.

Source - TheNation

#Bangkok, Court approves two more arrest warrants

The Min Buri Court Monday approved two more arrest warrants for a Thai woman and a foreigner suspected of involvement in the Erawan Shrine bombing, Police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri said.
Prawut said the court approved an arrest warrant for Wanna Suansan who rented an apartment room in Min Buri. The court also approved an arrest warrant for the second foreigner who was seen living in the room rented by Wanna.

Police found fertiliser and explosive that could be used to make bombs inside Wanna's rented room, the spokesman added.

Shortly after the August 17 blast that killed 20 people and injured more than 100 others, the court approved an arrest warrant for a foreigner who was seen on CCTVS placing a backpack in the compound of the shrine before the bomb went off.

On Saturday, police arrested a foreigner at an apartment in Bangkok's Nong Chok district. Police refused to say whether the suspect was the alleged bomber wanted in the first arrest warrant.

Prawut said Monday that the arrested suspect was involved with the Ratchaprasong and Sathorn pier bombings but his nationality was still not clear.

The spokesman said police are also seeking warrants for arrest of several more suspects.

Source: The Nation 

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