Chuvit jailed for hiding asset

Chuvit jailed for hiding asset

Chuvit Kamolvisit gestures before entering the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on Thursday to hear the ruling on his asset concealment allegation. (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)
Chuvit Kamolvisit gestures before entering the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on Thursday to hear the ruling on his asset concealment allegation. (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders has given a one-month jail term for Chuvit Kamolvisit for failing to declare an asset to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

The anti-graft agency found the former flamboyant politician did not declare his 150,000-baht stake in Seng Ki restaurant after his MP status ended on Dec 9, 2013, a violation of the 1999 NACC law.

The court handed him a two-month jail term, halved because he confessed. Since he had served a jail term of more than six months earlier and been released less than five years, the jail term given on Thursday could not be suspended, the court said.  

The court also banned him from holding political offices for five years from the day his MP status ended, or until Dec 9 this year.   

Chuvit, the leader of the Rak Thailand Party, told the court he misunderstood that the shares in the restaurant had already been transferred to other persons so he did not declare the holding to the NACC.

The Supreme Court sentenced him in January 2016 to two years in jail for the demolition of the bars and shops on the Sukhumvit Square night strip in 2003. He was freed in December in the same year under a royal pardon.

After the release, Chuvit became a news commentator for Thai Rath TV and Channel 3. Before he ran in the 2011 election, he owned property and entertainment businesses including hotels and massage parlours.

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