The Criminal Court has sentenced seven people involved in a transnational surrogacy network each to four years in jail, then released them because they had already spent more time in detention.
The case relates to a crackdown on commercial surrogacy in 2020. There were 11 defendants in the case, four were previously given long prison sentences.
The first defendant was a Chinese national, Ran Zhao, now 41. The other defendants were Chinese and Thais, including the Thai women hired as surrogates.
They were charged with collusion and participation in a transnational criminal organisation, collusion in commercial surrogacy and imports or exports of human eggs or embryos.
The offences occurred in Bangkok and other provinces. All defendants pleaded not guilty and were denied release on bail.
Ran Zhao was the first defendant in the case. His wife Su Ying Tin, her elder sister Wilasinee Su, Ms Lar Khantiyo, Mr Nikhom Simarat, Mr Thammanoon Panjasangkham, Ms Siyaporn Sawadphan, Ms Wiyada Chuechan, Ms Saibua Jaemmee, Chinese woman He Teng Yue and Mr Nopporn Yenjai were the second to eleventh defendants.
On Tuesday, the court passed judgement on seven of the defendants - the second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth.
The court acquitted them on charges of collusion in commercial surrogacy and import and export of eggs and embryos, ruling there was insufficient evidence against them.
The court found them guilty on charges of collusion and participating in a transnational criminal organisation, either directly or indirectly, and sentenced them each to four years in prison.
As all seven defendants had been in prison for periods exceeding their sentences, the court on Tuesday ordered them released. The defendants and their relatives, who were in court, burst into tears of joy.
The court had earlier ruled on the four other defendants - the first, fifth, sixth and eleventh in the case.
On Sept 21, 2021, the Criminal Court sentenced Ran Zhao and three other male defendants - Nikhom, Thammanoon and Nopporn - each to a total of 150 years in prison for collusion and participation in a transnational criminal organisation, collusion in commercial surrogacy and import and export of human eggs or embryos.
As they confessed to the charges, their sentences were halved to 75 years each. However, the law limits the time they can spend in prison to 50 years.
Police launched a crackdown on illegal surrogacy with searches at 10 locations in Bangkok and other provinces on Feb 13, 2020.
During the raids, police arrested a Chinese couple and seven Thais. The Chinese couple were Ran Zhao, then 37, and his wife. The seven Thais were five surrogate mothers-for-hire and two men. All were defendants in the case.
The raids followed a police investigation into a group of Chinese nationals they learned hired Thai women as surrogate mothers, which is illegal.