Former pop idol Pookie’s life sentence for drug trafficking, money laundering halved to 38 years

By THE NATION

 

 

Former pop star “Pookie” was slapped with 38 year jail sentence over drug trafficking and money laundering.

 

The Criminal Court on Wednesday issued a verdict on the case where Prissana or Priscilla “Pookie” Gemelli and her husband were arrested for selling 5.17 kilograms of ketamine to a Taiwanese man in June 2019 at their rented home in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district.

 

The Thai-Australian former singer Prissana, 41, and her Thai husband, Chonlawit Kitatrakul, 50, also tested positive for substance abuse.

 

The couple together with Taiwanese national Hung Cheng Yi, 29, were charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.

 

The court found all three defendants guilty and sentenced Hung to 25 years in prison and a Bt2.5 million fine. Prissana and Chonlawit, meanwhile, were slapped with a life sentence and a total fine of Bt3.6 million. However, since the defendants had confessed and cooperated with the investigation, the court decided to halve their sentences.

 

Hence, Hung will be in prison for 12 years and six months with a Bt1.25 million fine, while Prissana and Chonlawit were each given 38 years and nine months in jail and hit with a fine of Bt1.8 million.

 

The court has said that if the defendants are unable to pay the fine, they can choose to spend the equivalent time behind bars instead.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397321

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-04

 

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37 minutes ago, webfact said:

The court has said that if the defendants are unable to pay the fine, they can choose to spend the equivalent time behind bars instead.

 

So how does that work?

On release, she'll be nearly 80 and he'll be 89 if they do the full sentence.  Not sure how they will pay off the fine if they are banged up, unless they can sell their house.

32 minutes ago, Changoverandout said:

So how does that work?

In UK they say that £x = 1 day's imprisonment so I expect it will be something similar over here.  Not sure how the remission of sentence for good behaviour or parole system works in Thailand either, but I doubt whether they will do the full time.

 

All RedBull family have bright smile now.

Should have pockets deep enough to bribe judges and prosecutors.

15 hours ago, heina said:

Should have pockets deep enough to bribe judges and prosecutors.

That's what they did , but because the case against Vorayud became of public interest , that finally backfired ...

What happens in reality is that they just sit and wait for the next Amnesty and then they fine will get squashed although they then will not get any reduction in their sentence (except their ongoing good behavior days.)

 

Then the  next Amnesty after that they will enter the mainstream and get reductions on their sentence, although drugs cases get far less reductions, even for model prisoners, than say murderers or paedophiles.

 

Its a weird way but it is how their system works.

16 hours ago, graemeaylward said:

On release, she'll be nearly 80 and he'll be 89 if they do the full sentence.  Not sure how they will pay off the fine if they are banged up, unless they can sell their house.

In UK they say that £x = 1 day's imprisonment so I expect it will be something similar over here.  Not sure how the remission of sentence for good behaviour or parole system works in Thailand either, but I doubt whether they will do the full time.

 

I have explained in a separate post how their fine will be disposed of.

 

The Thai prisoner has six classes of behavior to assess amnesty reductions which are very bad, bad, standard, good, very good and exceptional.Unless you are at least level standard prisoner, you receive nothing,everybody starts at standard level.

 

Only if they have done stupid things, does their " class " go down.

 

Class behavior is reviewed six monthly. The higher your class the higher your reduction at amnesty time. Amnesties are not automatic.

 

Under the Amnesties it is then further broken down as to the  crime committed.

 

The worst crimea are drug offenses which attract the lowest rates of remission on sentences,even lower than murderers,  rapists and pedophiles.

 

 

 

16 hours ago, heina said:

All RedBull family have bright smile now.

Should have pockets deep enough to bribe judges and prosecutors.

 

It is too late for that now. That ship has sailed.

19 hours ago, webfact said:

The court has said that if the defendants are unable to pay the fine, they can choose to spend the equivalent time behind bars instead.

Pookie will be an oldie when she gets out... lots of time to think about the misery drugs bring to peoples lives.

Never did understand math here! How does half a life sentence equate to 38 years?

3 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

19 hours ago, heina said:

All RedBull family have bright smile now.

Should have pockets deep enough to bribe judges and prosecutors.

 

It is too late for that now. That ship has sailed.

 

Its all gone quiet again on the case of the RedBull heir....  

 

They’re playing the silent game, the media and the people will get bored.

 

 

30 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

They’re playing the silent game, the media and the people will get bored.

True. How many people talk about Duangchalerm these days, or the Burmese on Koh Tao?

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Pookie will be an oldie when she gets out... lots of time to think about the misery drugs bring to peoples lives.

]'Many people enjoy the drugs she was selling and have no misery from them, quite the opposite in fact. 

21 hours ago, Changoverandout said:

 

So how does that work?

 A monetary fine is worked off at the rate 200 baht per day. After your sentence is finished they start deducting 200 baht per day served against your fine.

 

I used to see her a fair bit at the RS building in Latprao back in 1996 ore thereabouts even before her career had been launched. She was a very pleasant and attractive 'lookkrueng' with a very promising career ahead of her. Her singing was ok too. So sad to see what happened ????

An unfortunate choice of nickname 'Pookie'. Malaysians must have found it hilarious.

On 11/5/2020 at 4:36 PM, kwonitoy said:

 A monetary fine is worked off at the rate 200 baht per day. After your sentence is finished they start deducting 200 baht per day served against your fine.

 

 

At that rate they will serve another 24.5 years to pay off 1.8 million baht. Ouch. I hope they still have non-confiscated funds in the bank.

On 11/5/2020 at 6:49 PM, PETERTHEEATER said:

An unfortunate choice of nickname 'Pookie'. Malaysians must have found it hilarious.

 

Judging by her photo I am sure her pookie was very nice back in 1996.