The Appeal Court has acquitted Monta Yokrattanakan, aka Ying Kai, of human trafficking, finding no evidence she had forced a girl to work as her maid.
Monta Yokrattanakan, also known as Ying Kai, arrives at the Criminal Court in Bangkok to hear the Appeal Court’s acquittal ruling yesterday. Apichit Jinakul
The ruling was read out at the Criminal Court in Bangkok yesterday.
The Appeal Court overturned the Criminal Court’s judgement of Oct 19, 2017, which sentenced the 62-year-old to three years in jail for human trafficking because she had seized the ID card of the maid, Kanchana Ponglarpsoonthorn, and had not paid her a salary from June 2006 to October 2010.
The Criminal Court had also ordered her to pay 590,007 baht in compensation to the young woman.
However, the Appeal Court found that Ms Monta had provided accommodation for Ms Kanchana, then a girl, in a condominium in the Prachaniwet area of Bangkok, and had her share chores with two other maids catering only to Ms Monta and her child.
The Appeal Court found that Ms Kanchana’s workload was not heavy and that Ms Monta had on occasions given her 1,000 baht, and also 2,000 baht for a trip home.
She had also transferred 5,000 baht to her account.
She had also taken Ms Kanchana on holiday to other provinces and let her go out shopping.
That showed that Ms Kanchana had freedom of movement and had not been detained, the Appeal Court said.
Although Ms Monta had failed to send Ms Kanchana to nursing school and to pay her a salary as promised, and had kept Ms Kanchana’s ID card, she had not coerced her into working.
Ms Kanchana herself had told the court that although Ms Monta had been hot-tempered she had never forced her to work.
Therefore, there was no case to support the charge of human trafficking, the Appeal Court ruled.
After hearing the ruling, Ms Monta cried with joy.