One of the defendants in the robbery of the home of former permanent secretary for transport Supoj Saplom in 2011 admitted to a court on Wednesday that the burglary was planned well in advance.
Singthong Jaichomchuen told the Criminal Court on Monday that he and other members of the gang had made several plans to break into the house in Soi Lat Phrao 62 prior to the actual robbery, but each time had pulled back because they realised they were not fully ready.
Finally, on Nov 12, 2011, they went ahead with the plan, were successful and fled with the money.
Mr Singthong and eight others are charged with breaking into Mr Supoj's home and stealing 18 million baht in cash. He is the first defendant to testify in court.
Mr Supoj's house was robbed while he attended his daughter's wedding.
He has been suspected of being unsually rich due to the large amount of cash stolen from his house.
Mr Supoj was investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which later asked the Office of the Attorney-General to confiscate assets worth almost 65 million baht from him.
The former transport permanent secretary was transferred to the Prime Minister's Office, pending settlement of the case.