Picture courtesy of Naewna

 

The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases has sentenced a former prosecutor to two years in prison for soliciting a 500,000-baht bribe to assist a Chinese national accused of passport forgery. A female accomplice received the same initial sentence, later both sentences were reduced to one year and four months due to partial cooperation.

 

The ruling, delivered on 18 August and reported on 21 October, found Second Lieutenant Aphitsak Promsawat, formerly a special prosecutor with the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Bangkok District Court 4 (Yan Nawa) and Ms. Thanya Temchamnan guilty of corruption-related offences. The case stemmed from an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which determined that the two defendants had demanded money between 26 November 2019 and 29 January 2020.

 

According to court documents, Ms. Thanya contacted relatives of a Chinese suspect charged with forging and using a fake passport in a case handled by Suvarnabhumi Airport Police. She arranged a meeting between them and Aphitsak, who claimed he could influence the legal process to benefit the defendant. Aphitsak allegedly requested 500,000 baht as a “case facilitation fee,” which the family subsequently paid through Ms. Thanya.

 

Prosecutors argued that both defendants sought financial gain by falsely asserting that they could persuade state officials to act unlawfully in favour of the accused. The NACC submitted the case to the anti-corruption court, which ruled that even if Aphitsak lacked actual authority in the matter, his actions and representations demonstrated intent to deceive and induce belief that he could intervene in the case.

 

The court found both defendants guilty under Section 143 of the Criminal Code, along with Section 175 of the Organic Act on Anti-Corruption (2018) and Section 83 of the Criminal Code. It ruled that their conduct constituted a single offence under multiple legal provisions, with punishment determined under Section 143. Initially sentenced to two years in prison each, their sentences were reduced by one-third for partial cooperation during investigation and trial, resulting in one year and four months’ imprisonment each, without suspension.

 

Following sentencing, the court granted both defendants temporary release on bail pending appeal. It was further reported that Aphitsak had already been suspended from service by the Prosecutors Commission after the anti-corruption office filed charges.

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Former prosecutor and accomplice convicted for soliciting 500,000 baht to “assist” a Chinese passport forgery case.

• Both were sentenced to one year and four months in prison after partial cooperation.

• The court deemed the actions corrupt even though the accused had no direct authority in the case.

 

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  Adapted by Asean Now from Naewna 2025-10-23

 

 

 

 

LOL, You play you pay.

It was all good until they got busted....

Of course it must be an ex-prosecutor, as the working ones, judges and lawyers can't be prosecuted for their bribes.. Protected by law......

Who did he forget to pay?