Sacked grand chamberlain charged with forest encroachment

Police on Thursday charged Pol Gen Jumpol Manmai, a former deputy police chief and Grand Chamberlain of the Bureau of the Royal Household, with forest encroachment in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

An escort of soldiers delivered Pol Gen Jumpol, 66, to the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok to hear charges of illegally building six resort houses on 13 rai of land inside the boundary of Thap Lan National Park in tambon Thai Samakkhi of Wang Nam Khieo district, Nakhon Ratchasima.

Pol Gen Jumpol's head appeared to have been shaved.

He was handed over to deputy police chief Srivara Ransibhramanakul, who said police would get approval from the Nakhon Ratchasima provincial court to further detain the suspect.

Pol Gen Srivara said there were five suspects in the case and four had turned themselves in.

Police said later the suspect had confessed to the charges.

Investigators found that Pol Gen Jumpol had built the six resort houses on land he was given by Pol Maj Gen Pongdech Prommichit, 57, former deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 5, and his girlfriend Chayanis Pisitwanich, 51. Pol Maj Gen Pongdech was recently sacked and charged in relation to the encroachment. 

Other suspects are Thanakorn Manmai, Pol Gen Jumpol's 59-year-old wife who remans at large, and Manop Plodkhoksung, a 34-year-old native of Nakhon Ratchasima and a relative of Ms Chayanis who is allegedly involved in the acquisition of the forest land.

Ms Chayanis is a former assistant president of  Thai Samakkhi tambon administration organisation and had occupied the land  since 2008. Pol Gen Jumpol was given the land in 2011 and construction of the houses started afterwards.