Thai demo leader gets 20-year jail sentence
Source: Agencies |
February 29, 2012, Wednesday
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A THAI protest leader whose movement helped topple three prime ministers was yesterday sentenced to 20 years in prison for falsifying financial documents aimed at securing a US$32 million government bank loan for his media empire.
Sondhi Limthongkul faces separate charges in connection with the aggressive protests of his People's Alliance for Democracy, or Yellow Shirts, who in 2008 occupied the prime minister's offices for three months and Bangkok's two airports for a week. The group is still active, though less influential.
The 64-year-old Sondhi pleaded guilty to crimes involving documents he submitted for his Manager Media Group to secure a 1 billion baht loan in 1997 from the state Krung Thai Bank.
He was sentenced to five years each on 17 counts, but the 85-year term was halved because he pleaded guilty.
The final sentence was capped at 20 years because it is the maximum allowable on the charge. He was released on 10 million baht bail pending appeal.
The alliance recently said it opposes efforts by the current government to change the constitution. It alleges that changes would benefit former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in self-imposed exile to avoid serving a jail term on a corruption conviction.
Sondhi founded his movement in 2005 to topple then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, alleging he was corrupt and disrespectful to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He staged protests that eased the way for a 2006 army coup that deposed Thaksin.
Sondhi and Thaksin were among maverick businessmen who built empires in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He was shot in the head in 2009 by unknown attackers.
Sondhi Limthongkul faces separate charges in connection with the aggressive protests of his People's Alliance for Democracy, or Yellow Shirts, who in 2008 occupied the prime minister's offices for three months and Bangkok's two airports for a week. The group is still active, though less influential.
The 64-year-old Sondhi pleaded guilty to crimes involving documents he submitted for his Manager Media Group to secure a 1 billion baht loan in 1997 from the state Krung Thai Bank.
He was sentenced to five years each on 17 counts, but the 85-year term was halved because he pleaded guilty.
The final sentence was capped at 20 years because it is the maximum allowable on the charge. He was released on 10 million baht bail pending appeal.
The alliance recently said it opposes efforts by the current government to change the constitution. It alleges that changes would benefit former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in self-imposed exile to avoid serving a jail term on a corruption conviction.
Sondhi founded his movement in 2005 to topple then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, alleging he was corrupt and disrespectful to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He staged protests that eased the way for a 2006 army coup that deposed Thaksin.
Sondhi and Thaksin were among maverick businessmen who built empires in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He was shot in the head in 2009 by unknown attackers.
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