BBC Thai shows proof of Thammanat's imprisonment in Australia

By The Nation

 

Thammanat Prompao

 

BBC Thai has released notes of an official document obtained from a visit to an Australian court, stating that Manat Bophlom, the fomer name of Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Thammanat Prompao, had served four years in jail for a charge of conspiring to import heroin to Australia.

 

Early September, Australia newspaper Sydney Morning Herald broke the news about Manat's jail term, prompting Thammanat to accuse some Thais and foreign journalists of creating a smear campaign against him.

 

BBC Thai reported on Tuesday (October 8 ) that Thammanat said to the broadcaster that he was asking Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contract Australia for a copy of the court verdict.

 

Reporters from BBC Thai went to Downing court in Sydney last month to make notes of the record and facts of the case with permission from court officials. They were allowed to use their laptop, but prohibited from photo-copying the document, according to BBC Thai.

 

The document stated that Manat was arrested by Australian police on April 15, 1993 at a guest room in Palage Hotel near Bondi beach. together with three persons including a Thai and two Australians.

 

The court record showed that Manat Bophlom had admitted to the charge of conspiring to import a commercial quantity of heroin to Australia on November 15, 1993. The presiding judge handed down the verdict on March 31, 1994 and sentencing Manat to six years in jail.

 

The court said he would be eligible for release after serving at least four years of his sentence. Manat was deported from Australia after being imprisoned for four years in Sydney, BBC Thai reported.

 

BBC Thai cited that Thammanat said to BBC Thai via telephone on October 4, 2019 that he did not plead guilty to the charge, but instead asked for negotiations between his attorney and the court.

 

He said he had not been involved in drug smuggling. He said at the time of his arrest, he did not have much experience or enough money to fight the charge, BBC Thai quoted him as saying.

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-10-09

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I imagine in Thailand he would have got over 20 years for a similar conviction.

Will be funny see when media/parliament ask Prayut/Prawit tomorrow about this one.

 

2 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

I imagine in Thailand he would have got over 20 years for a similar conviction.

Or death punishment.

Looks like it´s time for a crisis meeting and quickly find a way to make this <deleted> go away.

2 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Will be funny see when media/parliament ask Prayut/Prawit tomorrow about this one.

 

It's all a misunderstanding i'm sure!

2 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

I imagine in Thailand he would have got over 20 years for a similar conviction.

no, he was a mastermind (according to the australian court).

in thailand such criminals are never apprehended, they pay police for information and employ them to move drugs across the country and deal them

3 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Will be funny see when media/parliament ask Prayut/Prawit tomorrow about this one.

 

He will call it "Fake News", and block the BBC websites from the internet here !

Yes; the Beeb will get the blame for everything and the convicted criminal will continue to 'serve the people'.....as all the other Thai criminals do !

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

Looks like it´s time for a crisis meeting and quickly find a way to make this <deleted> go away.

brake failure seems to be the popular one these days. 

Must be obviously having top connections in Thailand, that will get him back tu business in a jiffy !

34 minutes ago, sillyfool said:

brake failure seems to be the popular one these days. 

But will Thammanat be driving?

2 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

I imagine in Thailand he would have got over 20 years for a similar conviction.

In Thailand he would of gotten death sentence but possibly reduced to life in jail if he confessed.. Taiwanese guy just got that for 5 kg 

Interesting to note he has disappeared from making threats or headlines for weeks already .

 

he was setting up war room and was suing everyone but then he got sick, magically recovered overnight, hair grew back after 1 night in the hospital and that was last he was heard from .

Headline in The Times 12/9/2019 reads:

Thai PM Prayuth Chan-o-cha slaps down claims that minister was drug-trafficker

The story goes on to say:

Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, defended a senior member of his government who has been exposed as a convicted heroin smuggler, insisting that the revelations were “small issues” and that questions about the scandal upset him.

It is interesting the PM is upset about the "scandal" and going to a lot of trouble to defend this drug trafficker who he has appointed Deputy Minister for Agriculture. What does this convicted criminal know that is so "upsetting" to the PM and why was he given ministerial positions and now being protected.

Hopefully the truth will out. Well done BBC Thai, keep digging.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/thai-pm-slaps-down-claims-that-minister-was-drug-trafficker-plvtdlggg

8 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

Headline in The Times 12/9/2019 reads:

Thai PM Prayuth Chan-o-cha slaps down claims that minister was drug-trafficker

The story goes on to say:

Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, defended a senior member of his government who has been exposed as a convicted heroin smuggler, insisting that the revelations were “small issues” and that questions about the scandal upset him.

It is interesting the PM is upset about the "scandal" and going to a lot of trouble to defend this drug trafficker who he has appointed Deputy Minister for Agriculture. What does this convicted criminal know that is so "upsetting" to the PM and why was he given ministerial positions and now being protected.

Hopefully the truth will out. Well done BBC Thai, keep digging.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/thai-pm-slaps-down-claims-that-minister-was-drug-trafficker-plvtdlggg

Word on the internet is someone above Big P wants him there and has put him there to stay 

21 minutes ago, BestB said:

Word on the internet is someone above Big P wants him there and has put him there to stay 

So Thammanats the supplier then 

33 minutes ago, BestB said:

Word on the internet is him there and has put him there to stay 

Entirely believable.

Many things going on now only make sense if you accept "someone above Big P wants "......

"Negotiations between his attorney and the court".... another lie from this criminal.

 

The courts in Australia don't negotiate. They are independent. He is clearly mixing up facts of his experience dealing with the Thai justice system...The best money can buy.

 

 

Edited October 9, 20196 yr by Reigntax

Who better than a convicted drug smuggler to be a deputy minister for agriculture. He will be able to use he overseas contacts to distribute the new dope crops.

The hypocritical war on drugs is a war against the people and notably in Thailand it is women who are imprisoned.  60 percent of all prisoners in Thailand are inside for drug offences. The war on drugs is not waged on the power elite such as Bush, cocaine and booze  Cameron, dope and cocaine,  Kennedy, Speed, and any Thai hi so  heroin dealer and smuggler. This is why politicians support the war on drugs ..because it is only applied to to the poor people, the vunerable people and the powerless.  

'Birds of a feather stick together'

 

Thammanat, fits into the Thai government beautifully .

 

For years all sorts of officials have been implicated in all sorts of crimes, trafficking of people, drugs and who knows what else.  The buck stops at the PM and I'm not referring to the responsibility.

5 hours ago, BestB said:

Word on the internet

Have you been reading Facebook again? ????

Fake news, the Aussies just gave him somewhere special to sleep for four years. ????

9 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

I imagine in Thailand he would have got over 20 years for a similar conviction.

I imagine in Thailand he would have been rewarded with a ministerial position in some corrupt administration.

Just get the feeling that Thammanat will be 'promoted' to a desk along side Big Joke, in his basement office, in the not too distant future?

5 minutes ago, bdenner said:

Just get the feeling that Thammanat will be 'promoted' to a desk along side Big Joke, in his basement office, in the not too distant future?

But the PM himself is just a puppet. Someone higher up wants the drug dealer to stay. Also, this drug dealer comes across as a vindictive lunatic. I think they also fear how he’d react to being s***canned because he has a lot of dirt. 

It was probably someone, higher up the food chain, that was the mastermind behind the original drug deal. This guy being the middleman who got busted. Now they want his silence, which can either be bought or the other ????????

 

Wouldn't be surprised if he "committed suicide" in the near future !!

Edited October 10, 20196 yr by cornishcarlos

4 Years in an Aussie jail would be heaven compared to Thailand. 

Thailand has handed down some hefty sentences for smuggling heroin and other drugs, Warren Fellows who did just over 11 years and many others  

Im inclined to think who could he implicate as being part of the deal

Edited October 10, 20196 yr by ChipButty