Supreme Court upholds MP's jail term
published : 6 Jul 2022 at 15:25
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Nujaree Rakrun and Online Reporters
The Supreme Court has upheld a two-year prison sentence and 10-year election ban for former Democrat MP Thepthai Senpong and his younger brother Manote Senpong, for vote buying during a 2014 local government election.
The ruling was read out at the Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial court on Wednesday.
The brothers were accused of vote buying after they threw a party for voters ahead of the election for the Nakhon Si Thammarat PAO chief in 2014.
The provincial court sentenced Manote and Thepthai to three years in prison, reduced to two years, and a 10-year election ban. The two brothers appealed.
On May 11 last year, the Appeals Court upheld the lower court’s ruling. The brothers again appealed and were released on bail after placing a surety of 1.5 million baht each, pending the Supreme Court's ruling.
After the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Appeals Court's decision, the two men were immediately taken to Nakhon Si Thamarat prison to begin their sentences.
Vocabulary
- appeal: to make a request that a court change a decision of a lower court - ยื่นอุทธรณ์
- Appeals Court (noun): a court that decides requests that a decision made by a lower court be changed - ศาลอุทธรณ์
- ruling (noun): a judgement; a decision by a court of law - คำตัดสิน คำชี้ขาด
- sentence: (of a court of law) to officially state what someone's punishment will be - พิพากษา, ตัดสินลงโทษ
- sentence : a punishment given by a court of law - การตัดสินลงโทษ
- supreme court: the highest court in a country - ศาลฎีกา, ศาลสูงสุด
- surety: money given as a promise that you will pay a debt, appear in court, etc - การค้ำประกัน
- upheld (verb): when a higher court said a lower court decision was ok and denied an appeal to reverse the court's decision - พิพากษายืนตามคำตัดสินหรือวินิจฉัยของศาลชั้นต้น
- voting (noun): the action of choosing somebody/something in an election or at a meeting - การลงคะแนนเสียง
