The Supreme Court on Tuesday sentenced in absentia a timber trader to two years in jail in a five-million-baht Salween teak bribery case dating back to 1998, upholding the rulings of the two lower courts.
The case involved Winai Panitchayanubarn, 59, managing director of Saha Wanakij (2499) Co, and Prawat Thanadkha, 61, then deputy chief of the Forestry Department.
Winai gave five million baht to Prawat in return for him ordering his subordinates to release teak wood worth about 180 million baht illegally cut from the Salween River basin in the North, which had been impounded by the Forestry Department.
The offence occurred between Dec 2, 1997 and Feb 12, 1998.
The Criminal Court, on Nov 11, 1998, sentenced Winai to two years in jail and Prawat to five years. It found there was solid evidence against them, including a Bank of Ayudhya official who confirmed Winai had withdrawn the five million baht himself. He put the money in a cardboard box and delivered it to Prawat's house.
The judgement was upheld by the Appeals Court.
The two men appealed to the Supreme Court. Prawat died during the court's deliberation of the case.
The Supreme Court initially set June 1 this year to deliver its ruling, but postponed tit until July 26 after Winai did not show up. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Winai again did not appear before the court on Tuesday. The court delivered the ruling in his absence, confirming the judgement of the two lower courts. The case against Prawit was dismissed, because he was dead.