Former Channel 3 TV news anchor Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda may face more charges in the cheating of MCOT Plc out of 138.7 million baht in advertising revenue.
Investigators from Phaya Thai police station on Tuesday gave public prosecutors an investigation report recommending new charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and falsifying documents against Sorrayuth, his company Rai Som Co, and two others for their role in the MCOT advertising scam.
The two individuals named in the lawsuit are former Rai Som employee Montha Theeradet and a former employee of Mcot, Pichapa Iamsa-ard.
The lawyer representing Pichapa said he had submitted a petition on his client’s behalf asking the prosecutors to drop the Phaya Thai police’s bid, citing double jeorpardy as the offence had already been decided by the Criminal Court in February.
Sorrayuth and the two defendants are due to hear the prosecution’s decision on June 2, said Porrames Inthornchoomnoom, deputy director-general of Department of Criminal Litigation.
He said a seven-member panel tasked with scrutinising the case file will hold its first meeting on Wednesday.
The Criminal Court sentenced Sorrayuth, founder and managing director of Rai Som, and Montha to 13 years and four months each in prison for supporting malfeasance in office. It also sentenced Pichapa to 20 years in jail in absentia and fined Rai Som 80,000 baht.
After a short and controversial attempt to continue working as the Channel 3 news anchor, Sorrayuth stepped down from the on-air position. His company, however, continues to produce the station's newscasts, which remain popular.
The court ruled Sorrayuth and Montha bribed Pichapa to conceal a 138-million-baht advertising fee Rai Som owed to the state-run media organisation.
During 2005-06, Rai Som had a contract with MCOT to co-produce the Kui Kui Khao news talk programme and was allocated advertising slots of between two and five minutes during the programme.
The court was told Pichapa used correction fluid to erase entries detailing the advertising. Their actions were in violation of the 1959 Act on Offences Committed by State Officials.
The defendants were released on bail pending their appeal and banned from leaving the country without court permission.