NAKHON PHANOM: The provincial court yesterday handed down jail sentences to Sap Wapee and his wife for perjury after Sap was allegedly hired to serve as a scapegoat in a deadly hit-and-run case in 2005 involving former teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot.
The high-profile case involves witnesses being allegedly paid to testify on behalf of Ms Jomsap as she fought to secure a retrial to get her conviction overturned.
Sap and his wife, Jan Wapee, are among 11 suspects who investigators described as being members of a criminal network behind an illegal bid to secure a retrial for Ms Jomsap, who was pardoned after serving 18 months of a three-year sentence handed down in 2013.
Sap was accused of being paid to make a false claim that he was behind the wheel when the vehicle struck and killed an elderly man to help Ms Jomsap get off the hook.
The court yesterday found the couple guilty of filing a false complaint to police, unlawful assembly, and giving a false statement to the Supreme Court, which rejected Ms Jomsap's retrial bid on Nov 17 last year.
Sap was given a combined jail term of four years and six months, commuted to two years and 10 months because he confessed. Jan was given three years and six months in jail, reduced to one year and nine months.
Ms Jomsap pursued a wrongful conviction claim in a bid to clear her name after she was released.