3 years in jail for defamation
THE SUPREME Court yesterday sentenced a female civil servant to three years in prison for defaming a deputy interior minister by accusing him of raping her in a much-reported case 10 years ago.
Phakhaphorn Santhanulai, who was 27 in 2005 when the alleged rape took place, has also been ordered to pay Bt1 million to Sombat Uthai-sang, who was 67 then, for making false allegations that he raped her in a love motel.
Sombat’s defence team was able to prove that the two had consensual sex, citing evidence that the woman had kept tissue and her underwear stained with Sombat’s semen in a refrigerator for 53 days before filing a police complaint.
In May 2005, the Criminal Court convicted her of extortion, making false statements and criminal defamation. It sentenced her to seven years in prison and ordered her to pay Bt10 million in compensation. She was found guilty of extortion after she allegedly demanded Bt1 million from Sombat. Phakhaphorn’s lawyer said she hoped her client would be pardoned as she had to take care of her ailing parents.
