CHUWIT GETS 5 YEARS JAIL FOR BAR DEMOLITION RAID

Chuwit, who now leads the Rak Thailand Party, said he would appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court.
Yesterday, he was convicted alongside 65 accomplices over the operation to use force to push bar owners out of an area known as Sukhumvit Square on Sukhumvit Soi 10. The bars sprawled over more than 10 rai of land.
The raid in January 2003 drew a media spotlight and huge public attention because the operation involved backhoes and hundreds of robust men. All beer bars on the block were demolished.
At the time of the demolition, Chuwit was a massage-parlour tycoon, yet to enter politics. His accomplices included Lt Colonel Himalai Phiewphan, a military officer attached to the Armed Forces Development in 2003, and Major Thanyathep Thammathorn, who worked at the 11th Infantry Battalion, the Royal Guards.
All 131 defendants in the case denied any wrongdoing. However, about half were found guilty by the Court of Appeal. “Witnesses including some policemen saw the defendants before, during, and after the demolition at the scene,” the court said.
Chuwit was granted bail pending a review by the Supreme Court. As an MP carrying out his duty during a parliamentary session, he was not required to post any collateral.
Himalai and Thanyathep both posted collateral for bail.
Initially, the Criminal Court acquitted most defendants in the case including Chuwit, Himalai, and Thanyathep in 2006. The Criminal Court convicted just a lawyer, Chanwet Malaibucha, who received an eight-month jail term.
Chanwet, prosecutors and co-plaintiffs appealed against the 2006 verdict. Yesterday, he also received a five-year jail term.