Pongchai Fathaweeporn, 51, and Samart Ruangsri, 59, who sold the land, were also given a five-year jail term each.
Bangkok’s Ratchadapisek Criminal Court judge read the verdict yesterday for an encroachment lawsuit filed in September 2013 against the four. Banjerd, 61, worked as an authorised representative for Tan, 35.
Finding the defendants guilty, the court said that the forested land was the Kingdom’s important resource and changes made to the land for personal benefit was a serious violation and did not deserve a suspended sentence.