AYUTTHAYA: Eleven people arrested for gambling on cockfights were each given suspended 15-day jail terms and fined 6,000 baht by the provincial court, governor Panu Yaemsri said on Monday.
The 11 were detained by police on Jan 4 at a cockfighting ring in tambon Sampao Lom in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district.
They were indicted in the Ayutthaya Provincial Court on charges of illegal gambling and violating an order issued under the emergency decree prohibiting gathering at a crowded venue, to control the Covid-19 pandemic.
The court on Jan 5 sentenced each of them to 15 days in jail, suspended for one year, a fine of 1,000 baht for illegal betting and 5,000 baht for breaking the gathering ban.
Mr Panu said the province had so far registered 31 Covid-19 infections in the second wave of the pandemic. Most were infected at cock fighting arenas in Ayutthaya and Ang Thong provinces.
As a result, all cockfighting rings in Ayutthaya were ordered closed from the New Year, with police raiding venues defying the closure order, he said.