Celebrity couple Pattanapon "DJ Man" Minthakhin and his singer wife Suteewan "Baitoey" Kunchorn, among four acquitted in a high-profile Ponzi scheme trial, will receive compensation for unjustified detention if they can clear their names in the Supreme Court, Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong said.
Under the law on compensation and expenses for the accused in criminal cases, those wrongfully detained are entitled to 500 baht in compensation per day for their detention, medical expenses of up to 40,000 baht, compensation for loss of earnings, and legal fees of up to 30,000 baht.
Mr Pattanapon was imprisoned for 570 days, while his wife, Ms Suteewan, was in jail for 191 days.
Pol Col Taweee said this was the court's decision in the first instance. The prosecutors have 30 days to appeal, he said.
The Criminal Court on Thursday handed down prison terms totalling 49,125 years each to three men in the Forex-3D Ponzi scheme while acquitting four others, including the celebrity couple.
Celebrity couple Pattanapon 'DJ Man' Minthakhin and his singer wife Suteewan 'Baitoey' Kunchorn enjoy Christmas with their daughter. They are among four acquitted by the Criminal Court in the multi-billion-baht Forex-3D Ponzi scheme. (Photo: Baitoey R Siam Facebook)
The case involved seven defendants: Singaporean Daryl Cai Yonghui; Mr Pattanapon, Ms Suteewan, Chatchai "Sue" Khotchathin, Theeraphassakorn "Mark" Kimwangtako, Suranart Nakmusik, and Ayuwat Chaimethanarakul.
They were indicted on charges of colluding in obtaining loans to defraud, public fraud and inputting false information into a computer system related to the Forex-3D scheme.
Prosecutors said that between Nov 25, 2015, and Sept 8, 2020, the defendants invited people through Facebook to invest in the Forex-3D foreign exchange group, with 9,824 people investing a total of 2.49 billion baht.
The court found that while Mr Cai had persuaded some people to invest, he had not posted any messages to entice people, and this was not considered an advertisement.
The court said it was not evident that he colluded with Apirak Kothi, the accused mastermind of the Ponzi scheme.
It said it saw no evidence showing that Mr Cai acted as a leading member of the group and gave him the benefit of the doubt.
As for Mr Pattanapon and Ms Suteewan, the court said a photo showing them with Mr Apirak in a meeting room was a personal matter and did not show that they were involved in business with him.
The court found Mr Chatchai, Mr Theeraphassakorn and Mr Suranart guilty and sentenced them to 49,125 years for 9,825 offences.
However, the law limits their total prison time to 20 years each. Mr Ayuwat, the seventh defendant, was acquitted.
