A court in Bangkok on Friday sentenced the younger brother and two other relatives of the former royal consort to the Crown Prince to 11 years in jail, but since the defendants pleaded guilty, the jail term was halved.
Nattapong, Narong and Sittisak Suwadee were found guilty of making false claims about the Crown Prince to threaten a businessman into agreeing to reduce a debt. They were also found guilty of abduction, robbery, illegal possession of unauthorized weapons, and carrying weapons in a public place. They were sentenced to five years in jail for the charges under Article 112 alone.
Nattapong is a younger brother of Srirasmi Suwadee, former Royal Consort of Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn.
The four other defendants in the case denied all allegations. They will be tried in a separate case.
According to the charge, the defendants on 20 March 2014 abducted the victim on Sukhumwit Road and took him to a house in Bangkok’s Thawi Watthana District. The defendants allegedly made claims about the Crown Prince and forced the victim into negotiations about a debt.
In early March, the parents of Srirasmi, Abhiruj Suwadee, 72, and Wantanee Suwadee, 66, were found guilty of offences under Article 112 or the lèse majesté law, for filing a false police complaint, and framing others, which led to a person serving a term in jail.
Other close family members of Srirasmi, including her older sister and brother-in-law, are now in jail on various charges, such as encroachment into protected areas, bribery, abduction, and lèse majesté, after the divorce of the disgraced former princess and her demotion to commoner.
Latest Contents
Prachatai English is an independent, non-profit news outlet committed to covering underreported issues in Thailand, especially about democratization and human rights, despite pressure from the authorities. Your support will ensure that we stay a professional media source and be able to meet the challenges and deliver in-depth reporting.
• Simple steps to support Prachatai English
1. Bank transfer to account “โครงการหนังสือพิมพ์อินเทอร์เน็ต ประชาไท” or “Prachatai Online Newspaper” 091-0-21689-4, Krungthai Bank
2. Or, Transfer money via Paypal, to e-mail address: [email protected], please leave a comment on the transaction as “For Prachatai English”