Bangkok, Dec 8 (AFP\/APP):A Thai tycoon accused of poaching wildlife in a national park lost his final appeal Wednesday, in a long-running saga that drew public outrage over the elite’s perceived impunity.<\/p>\n
Construction magnate Premchai Karnasuta was arrested in February 2018 when park officials found guns, animal carcasses — including of a kalij pheasant and a red muntjac — and the pelt of a black leopard at his campsite.<\/p>\n
Premchai was found not guilty of possessing a leopard carcass, but he was convicted of three other poaching-related charges and sentenced to 16 months jail. It was raised to three years and two months by the Appeals Court.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict and sentence of three years and two months, a court official confirmed.
\nHe and two other defendants were ordered to pay 2 million baht ($60,000) in compensation.<\/p>\n
Premchai, who arrived in a Range Rover sporting an eye patch, will not receive a suspended sentence, according to the attorney general’s office.
\nHe has been sent to Thong Pha Phum district prison, a court official confirmed.<\/p>\n
The decision brings to a close a long-running case that sparked public anger in a kingdom fed up with perceived impunity for powerful figures.
\nPremchai’s firm, Italian-Thai Development Company, is behind major infrastructure projects such as Bangkok’s sky train and Suvarnabhumi airport.<\/p>\n
He and his sister were on the Forbes Top 50 richest list for Thailand until 2016 with an estimated $630 million fortune at the time, but they have since dropped off the ranking.<\/p>\n
Members of the kingdom’s wealthy elite have a habit of avoiding justice.
\nThere was a public outcry last year when Thai authorities dropped charges against Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya after he crashed his Ferrari in 2012, killing a police officer.<\/p>\n
Thailand’s Attorney General’s Office has since announced fresh charges and an Interpol Red Notice has been issued to arrest Vorayuth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bangkok, Dec 8 (AFP\/APP):A Thai tycoon accused of poaching wildlife in a national park lost his final appeal Wednesday, in a long-running saga that drew public outrage over the elite’s perceived impunity. Construction magnate Premchai Karnasuta was arrested in February 2018 when park officials found […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":29521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10482],"tags":[14600],"class_list":["post-29520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-environment-news","tag-thai-supreme-court-jails-tycoon-over-wildlife-poaching"],"yoast_head":"\n