AMONG the prisoners receiving royal pardon on the occasion of the birthday anniversary of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great, National Day and Father’s Day of Thailand, were five sentenced to lengthy jail terms in high-profile cases, Matichon newspaper said today (Dec. 6).
This newspaper examined the list of over 130,000 prisoners given a reduction of their sentence and found that four former high-ranking officials and one businessman were granted a royal pardon for the second time this year.
The five prisoners in these high-profile cases are as follows:
1) Mr. Boonsong Teriyapirom, 61, former commerce minister who was jailed for 48 years in the government-to-government rice sales case, had his sentence reduced to 16 years under the first royal pardon and this further reduced to 10 years under the second royal pardon. He will be released on April 21, 2028.
2) Mr. Poom Saraphon, 65, Boonsong’s former deputy, was sentenced to 36 years in jail. This was reduced to 12 years in this year’s first royal pardon and eight years in the second royal pardon. He will be released on August 25, 2025.
3) Mr. Manat Soiploy, former director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade, 69, was sentenced to 40 years in jail in the same case. After this year’s second royal pardon it was reduced to eight years and he will be released on July 11, 2026. All three have been imprisoned for four years, three months and 14 days.
4) Mr. Apichart (Xia Piang) Chansakulphon, 64, an executive of rice exporter Siam Indica Co was sentenced to 48 years in jail. In the first royal pardon this was reduced to nine years and the second royal pardon six years, three months and 26 days. He will be released on Dec. 26, 2023.
5) Mrs. Juthamas Siriwan, former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, 75, jailed for 50 years in a bribery case. Her sentence was reduced to 17 years in this year’s first royal pardon and nine years, five months and 24 days under the second one. She will be released on September 16, 2026.
CAPTION:
Top: Former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, top, and former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Juthamas Siriwan. Photos: Matichon
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