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Police bid to revive two Premchai charges

BANGKOK: Police submitted a letter of objection to public prosecutors yesterday (Apr 10) regarding the indictment against construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta, who has been charged in a suspected poaching incident at a protected wildlife sanctuary.

animalscrimecorruptionpolice
By Bangkok Post

Wednesday 11 April 2018 08:51 AM


Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul and a team of investigators requested the Office of the Attorney-General to reinstate dropped poaching charges against accused construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta. Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya

Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul and a team of investigators requested the Office of the Attorney-General to reinstate dropped poaching charges against accused construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta. Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya

Deputy police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul led a team of investigators to submit the letter to the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG).

Police proposed earlier that Premchai should be indicted on 11 counts. The Office of Public Prosecution Region 7 last Wednesday (Apr 4) dropped five of them, leaving six in place including the charge of colluding to enter a wildlife sanctuary without permission.

In the letter of objection, police insisted the indictment against Premchai and three others should include the charges of colluding to enter a wildlife sanctuary without permission, colluding to smuggle wildlife-poaching equipment into a wildlife sanctuary without permission, and colluding in attempting to hunt wildlife in a wildlife sanctuary without permission.

The officers said they have accepted the prosecutor’s decision to drop the charge of colluding to commit cruelty to wild animals, and the charge of colluding to possess weapons and ammunition.

Gen Srivara said police wanted the prosecutors to reconsider the charges that had been dropped, particularly that of colluding to enter a wildlife sanctuary without permission, after they studied the regulations regarding entry to national parks by the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (NPWPCD).

Gen Srivara said previously that although no penalty is stated in the NPWPCD’s regulation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has already filed a civil suit against Premchai and three other suspects for this offence.

Tharam Chaleechan, deputy spokesman of the OAG, said the attorney-general would make a decision before the final detention period of the suspects in April.

The president of Italian-Thai Development Plc and his accomplices were arrested on Feb 4 after reportedly shooting and eating a rare black leopard.

Read original story here.