A former MP for Buri Ram, his wife, his elder brother and three other people have each been sentence to four years in prison and ordered to pay 22 million baht in damages for the of road-paving gravel from land reform areas.
The Supreme Court on handed down its verdict on Tuesday, sentencing seven-time MP Panawat Liangpongpan, 53; his wife Jetiya Liangpongpan, 53, his elder brother Sawaeng Liangpongpan, 58, Mr Sawaeng’s wife Thong Liangpongpan, 58; Tao Torapram, 66, and Chavalit Singhachai, 64, to four years in jail for colluding in the theft of 458 million cubic metres of gravel from land reform areas in Pa Dong Keng forest in tambon Khumuang in Muang district of Buri Ram province between March 1990 and Nov 13, 2013.
Sawaeng is chairman of the Tambon Khumuang Administration Organisation.
Seven-time MP for Buri Ram Panawat Liangpongpan is sentenced to four years in jail term along with five others for colluding in gravel theft. (Bangkok Post file photo)
The court also ordered the six defendants to pay the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO), the damaged party, 22,604,715 baht, the value of the stolen gravel.
Upon hearing the verdict, the former MP, his wife and the other defendants looked worried while their relatives and some neighbours showed up to give them morale support. The six defendants were later taken to the Buri Ram prison, said a source.
They were among eight defendants in the case. One of the two defendants, Kat Luadthaisong had been acquitted of the charges by a lower court, while another one, Sanan Dermthamran, died during the court proceedings and his name was later removed from the case.
The Criminal Court earlier sentenced the six defendants and Mr Sanan to seven years in prison and asked them to pay compensation of about 22 million baht to the ALRO. The defendants appealed the ruling and Mr Sanan died during the appeal. The Appeals Court‘s Region 3 ruled in their favour by dropping the charges against them.
But the Supreme Court had no doubts about the plantiff’s evidence showing that the defendants had used backhoes to dig gravel from the land reform areas. The court found the defendants’ testimony carried little weight before giving its judgement and sentencing them to four years in prison each.