A businessman has surrendered after fleeing four years ago to face a jail term for document forgery and charges of running illicit businesses in South, according to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
Sahachai "Sia Jo" Chiansoemsin turned himself in, Gen Prawit said on Monday, confirming recent reports that Sia Jo, 50, appeared in the southern border province of Pattani.
Gen Prawit, also the defence minister, said that while police were questioning the businessman, related agencies were discussing action after his surrender.
Authorities suspected Sahachai of running many kinds of illicit businesses, including a casino in the Gulf of Thailand and oil and wood smuggling, and bribing some police officers.
Soldiers arrested Sahachai in June 2014. In a previous search at his property in Pattani, officials found fake immigration stamps. The provincial court sentenced him to a jail term of one year and nine months for documentary forgery on Oct 9, 2014, but he managed to escape from the court and a police officer was suspected of letting him go.