The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases has sentenced 15 policemen and seven civilians to prison in connection with the murder of a highway policeman during a dinner party at the home of an influential kamnan last year.
The court's judgement was read out on Tuesday.
Four policemen were each sentenced to two years and the 11 others to 16 months each, on charges of malfeasance. Three of the sentences were suspended. One other was found not guilty of the charge.
The highest ranking of the police defendants sentenced to prison was Pol Maj Kiattisak Somsuk, formerly chief investigator of Krathum Baen police in Samut Sakhon province.
All attended a dinner hosted by Praween Chankhlai at his house in Muang district of Nakhon Pathom province on Sept 6, 2023. Praween is known locally as Kamnan Nok, and was an influential tambon chief in the province.
The deadly dinner party ended with the murder of Pol Maj Sivakorn Saibua, a highway policeman, in full view of the other guests by a gunman who arrived at the function. Many of the guests were senior police officers who made no effort to stop or capture the killer.
The gunman, Thananchai Manmak, fled to Kanchanaburi province, where he was shot dead by police. He was a close associate of Praween.
The murder arose from an argument over a promotion.
Praween, who has been detained at Bangkok Remand Prison since his surrender, was sentenced to two years behind bars. Five other defendants each received a one-year-and-four-month sentence, three of them getting a suspended term. One man was sentenced to prison for one year, nine months and 21 days.
All seven civilians were found guilty of supporting the police defendants in their dereliction of duty during the fatal meal.
Praween still faces a more serious charge of being the alleged mastermind of the murder of Pol Maj Sivakorn. He turned himself in the day after the shooting.