Santika owner gets 7 months more jail time

Santika owner gets 7 months more jail time

The Supreme Court has sentenced the Santika Pub owner to another seven months in jail for failing to pay 85 million baht in tax while he was in charge of the venue.

The pub was the scene of a 2008 fire which killed 67 and injured 103 New Year's Eve revellers.

Wisuk Setsawat was found guilty of a careless act causing many deaths and injuries and sentenced to three years' imprisonment by the Supreme Court in November 2015.

In the tax case, the 50-year-old businessman denied dodging excise tax on liquor sales at his pub from Nov 13, 2003 to Dec 31, 2008.

Wisuk was accused by prosecutors because he was an executive board member of White and Brothers Co which oversaw the Santika Pub in the Ekamai area of Bangkok.

The court of first instance ruled against him and handed down a 12-month jail term for tax evasion in 2014. However, the Appeal Court later acquitted him.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the acquittal.

According to yesterday's ruling, despite Wisuk having transferred many of his duties on the company board to another person, he still managed important business affairs regarding the pub, including customer services and financial issues. They included handling expenditures and revenues.

This showed Wisuk was still the pub owner and liable to excise tax payments, the court said.

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