A policewoman from a Bangkok station was sentenced on Thursday to 125 years in jail for embezzling suspects’ bail worth a total of 720,000 baht.
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases found Pol Capt Jirat-on Paksap guilty on 25 counts of embezzlement, each of which carried a jail term of five years.
Prosecutors told the court that Pol Capt Jirat-on was a deputy administrative inspector at the Wang Thong Lang station. She was responsible for collecting suspects’ bail from police investigators and depositing the money.
The court was told that the officer failed to deposit funds totalling 720,000 baht. She admitted in court that she had failed to comply with the relevant regulation but said she had no ill intent.
The court said that Ministry of Finance regulations required her to deposit bail funds and present deposit slips to the chief of her station on a daily basis.
According to the court, witnesses noticed that Pol Capt Jirat-on had kept about 200,000 baht in cash in a steel cabinet in her office for a long time. When an internal audit and the State Audit Office found a shortfall in bail funds, she returned 450,000 baht. The behaviour indicated embezzlement, said the court, which also ordered her to return the remaining 270,000 baht outstanding.
Because the defendant cooperated with the investigation, the court reduced the imprisonment term by one-third to 83 years. By law, however, jail terms are capped at 50 years.
