Business tycoon jailed for land forgery in Saraburi scandal
High-profile fraud case exposes deep-rooted land scandal
The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Region 1 sentenced Prachai Leophairat to eight years in prison over a land document forgery case in Saraburi.
The veland forgeryrdict was delivered yesterday, August 19 at the mentioned court, with case numbers Aot98/2567 and Aot.84/2568. The prosecution was led by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Corruption Suppression 1, Region 1, against Narongpol Kaewsarn as the first defendant, Prachai Leophairat as the second defendant, and TPI Polene Public Company Limited as the third defendant.
The court heard that Jarunsak Eksawat, a Surveyor 6 with the Department of Lands, forged 11 land titles, including numbers 41925, 41926, 41339, 41909, and others. These titles were issued for forest and mountainous areas in Saraburi and Lop Buri provinces, areas where legitimate land titles could not be legally issued.
Jarunsak received 1,050,000 baht (US$32,200) from Chakrawut Nityasuthi, an employee of the third defendant, in exchange for the forgery, which misled others to believe the listed people had legitimate ownership of the land.
The third defendant, through Prachai and Prayat Leophairat, signed documents authorising Waipote Kodbuar and Sunthorn Dissayanon to handle the necessary paperwork. The Forest Resource Management Office 5 (Saraburi) reported the case to the police, leading to charges under the Forest Act of 1941.
Waipote presented copies of the 11 land titles to investigators. The incidents occurred in Pak Phriao subdistrict, Mueang Saraburi district, Thap Kwang subdistrict, Kaeng Khoi district, Saraburi province, and Thung Maha Mek district, Sathon, Bangkok.
Land forgery
The defendants denied the charges. Investigations revealed that in 2014, officials found the third defendant conducting mining operations outside the licensed area, leading to several legal actions.
The court ordered the third defendant to refill the land with industrial rocks and limestone, amounting to several million metric tonnes. If they failed to comply, they would face damages of several billion baht.
During the investigation, the third defendant authorised Waipote and Sunthorn to submit documents related to the case. Waipote presented 11 land titles, issued under a governmental asset-to-capital policy.
Chakrawut, an advisor to the third defendant, requested funds from Prachai for the issuance of the land titles. Funds were disbursed in stages, totalling 9,000,000 baht (US$275,990). Chakrawut coordinated the survey and issuance of land titles, involving Jarunsak, who received payments for his role in the forgery.
The court found the first defendant guilty of supporting an official in fraudulent activities, harming the state. The second and third defendants were guilty of using forged official documents, reported KhaoSod.
The court sentenced the first defendant to eight years in prison, Prachai to eight years, and the third defendant to a fine of 160,000 baht (US$4,905). If the fine is not paid, actions will be taken according to the criminal code, section 29.
Latest Thailand News
Follow The Thaiger on Google News:
