1,000-year sentences in 17-year court case

BANGKOK: -- It has taken 17 years for the court to reach a verdict, and during that time eight of the original 16 defendants have passed away.

But today the Bangkok Criminal Court finally found five men guilty of stealing royal orders and decorations, and handed down sentences of over 1,000 years each.

The case, which has been dragging on since 1988, involves the now-deceased deputy temple abbot and 15 other men accused of forging documents relating to temple donations in order to request royal decorations from the Ministry of Education, and of soliciting charitable donations for their own personal use.

Accused on 10 counts, the men faced prison sentences of over 1,000 years each, with one defendant facing a prison spell of 2,660 years.

Thankfully for the defendants, eight of whom have already died since the case was first brought to the attention of the court 17 years ago, under the Thai law the maximum sentence that any will actually be made to serve is 50 years.

The profile of the case was raised by the fact that one of the defendants was assistant to the permanent secretary for education, whose roles was to verify the authenticity of documents relating to donations, and to determine whether the granting of royal orders was appropriate.

Another defendant was a high-ranking official in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Since 1988, the defendants and accusers have been passing evidence back and forth to the court, and in the intervening years four of the attorneys and one of the judges working on the case have died.

Over 100 witnesses have been interviewed, out of a total of 538 cited.

--TNA 2005-04-27

2,000 years in nick! Better bring a few good books!

Guess things will have changed a bit by time you get out.

Edited April 27, 200521 yr by terdsak_12

All a bit pointless, unless the Thai's have solved the conundrum

of everlasting life?

That should teach them never again to rape, murder, or deal in drugs....er um sorry, they didn't commit those petty crimes?

1000 years? Yeah, sure. I bet they'll be out in 400.

Edited April 29, 200521 yr by Baht Simpson