KANCHANABURI: The Thong Pha Phum court said on Wednesday it will rule on Italian-Thai Development president Premchai Karnasuta's black-leopard poaching case in the morning of March 19, 2019.
The court was due to hear the last two defence witnesses in the trial, including one of the defendants, 56-year-old Thanee Thummat, on Wednesday. When neither appeared it set the date for judgement.
The other three defendants in the case are: Mr Premchai, 63, Yong Dodkhruea, 65, and Nathee Riamsaen, 43.
The hearing of 32 prosecution witnesses started on Nov 27 and finished on Dec 18. The hearing of defence witnesses began on Dec 19 with Mr Premchai's testimony. The defendants' lawyers cut the number of their proposed witnesses from 17 to six.
The court convened on Wednesday to hear the last two defence witnesses - Mr Thanee and Noppadol Prueksawan, former director of marine national parks at the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and a former employee of Italian-Thai Development Plc.
Prosecutor Somchet Amnuaysawat said Mr Thanee postponed his testimony from Tuesday, saying he was suffering from hypertension. As his condition had not improved, defence lawyers decided not to call him to the stand on Wednesday.
The defence also called off their examination of Mr Noppadol. They said they had been unable to contact him.
Plaintiffs and defendants are scheduled to file their written closing statements on Jan 25. The court set the ruling for 9am on March 19.
Mr Premchai and his three associates were arrested in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, a World Heritage site, in Thong Pha Phum district of Kanchanaburi on Feb 4. They were caught at their campsite with the carcasses of protected wildlife, including that of a black leopard, guns and ammunition.
They were arraigned on charges of carrying firearms in public without permission, colluding to hunt wildlife in a wildlife sanctuary without permission, hunting protected wildlife without permission, possessing protected wildlife carcasses without permission, concealing wildlife carcasses obtained illegally, and collecting wildlife in a national forest reserve without permission.
