Durian merchant gets 15 days in jail for selling unripe durian
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Rayong court that sentenced a merchant to 15-days in jail for selling unripe fruit to a customer set a legal precedent for Thailand.
The Court on April 22 sentenced orchard owner Vimol Srivichai for selling 20 unripe durians for about Bt2,000, theThai Rath newspaper reported.
"The defendant defrauded his customer and in doing so adversely impacted the local economy by undermining people's good faith indurian sales," the court said in its verdict.
The client pressed charges after discovering the durians he bought on April 21 was unripe. Police in Rayong province confirmed the deception and brought the case to court.
Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat provinces on the eastern seaboard are famed for their tropical fruit plantations including durian,mangosteen and rambutan.
The Ministry of Agriculture has sought cooperation from orchard owners and merchants to refrain from selling unripe durian to maintain public confidence in the fruit, which is generally sold covered in its spiky shell.
"This court case sets a good example for other selfish merchants,"Olarn Pitak, director general of the Department of AgriculturalExtension, told the newspaper.
