Mr Sawit faces charges of fraud after not delivering condo units as agreed by contract despite receiving millions in down payments.
Mr Sawit now stands accused of defrauding investors of a total of more than B127.5mn, explained Tourist Police Chief Surachet Hakpan, who visited Phuket in person to announce the case to the press. (See story here.)
“Mr Sawit missed his court bail appointment on Tuesday (May 15),” Capt Ekkachai Siri of the Phuket Tourist Police confirmed to The Phuket News this morning (May 18).
“He failed to turn up at the court on time, which broke his bail conditions. After that, the court issued a new warrant for his arrest and Phuket Provincial Police officers went and found him at his office and served the warrant yesterday (May 17),” he added.
“Mr Sawit is still in Phuket province. I don’t think he will run away. Don’t worry, Patong Police are keeping a close eye on him,” Capt Ekkachai assured.
Capt Ekkachai said he could not confirm whether Mr Sawit will face further punishment for breaking his bail condition.
“That is up to the court,” he said.
The one court official willing to speak to The Phuket News, on the condition of anonymity, declined to comment on what further punishment Mr Sawit faced for breaking bail.
“He forgot to report himself… He was handed down his punishment and released on bail again,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the Phuket press corps has been informed that representatives of the Emerald Group will present their case to the public at a press conference tomorrow (May 19).
That defence will follow Mr Sawit in May last year explaining at length the status of all the major condo construction projects and the complaints against him that have led to the fraud charges he faces today. (See story here.)