Appeals Court to decide on Supachai graft lawsuit, says lawyer
The Appeals Court will decide on June 28 whether to withdraw the Bt22.132 million embezzlement lawsuit that the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) has filed against its former chairman Supachai Srisupa-aksorn, his lawyer said.
The move comes after the KCUC received Bt34.75 million in compensation from Supachai during the appeal, said Supachai’s lawyer Wanchai Boonnak on Friday.
Supachai, 60, was sentenced to 32 years in jail in March for siphoning money on eight occasions from April to October, 2013.
The sentence was then reduced to 16 years because Supachai – who had been in detention at Bangkok Remand Prison since his arrest – retracted his initial plea of innocence and confessed to the crime in court.
During the appeal, Supachai asked Wanchai to present Bt34.75 million to the KCUC and request the withdrawal of the lawsuit, Wanchai said.
Citing a court session in late March in which public prosecutors objected to the KCUC’s agreement to settle with Supachai, Wanchai said he argued that this was a compoundable offence as the case wasn’t yet finalised.
It was now up to the Appeals Court to rule whether this Bt22.132 million embezzlement lawsuit would be withdrawn, he added.
Supachai also faces three other cases of alleged embezzlement and fraud, resulting in losses of Bt20 billion, while another 10 cases were being probed under the Department of Special Investigation, Wanchai said.
Even if Supachai were released, investigators in other cases would ask for his detention and bail could be at least Bt20 million, the lawyer said.