Chonsawat jailed as legal battle ends

HIGH-FLYING politician Chonsawat Asavahame has to serve out one year and six months in prison for malfeasance and violating the law in a local election in Samut Prakan 16 years ago, after the Supreme Court upheld earlier ruling. The sentence ended a legal battle waged since 2002.

Chonsawat was remanded to Samut Prakan Prison, Wittaya Suriyawong, director-general of the Corrections Department, said yesterday. 

The controversial election fraud took place on May 2, 1999 when Chonsawat was the acting mayor of Samut Prakan Municipality and director of the local election for the Municipal Council in the province. 

In 2002, public prosecutors indicted both Chonsawat and Pitichart Traisurat, deputy president of the Samut Prakan Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO), on charges of malfeasance in the election as well as breaching the election law.

Pitichart was also accused of falsifying and using counterfeit ballots in the election. He was handed a three-year jail term. 

Chonsawat also ran in the race as the leader of Paknam 2000 Group. 

A video presented as court evidence showed a man stuffing ballot boxes. 

Prasan Sinpipat, a competitor of Chonsawat’s group in the race, filed a complaint to authorities accusing Chonsawat and his deputy of misconduct, cheating and election fraud.

The lower and appeals courts found both suspects guilty and sentenced Chonsawat to four and Pitichart to six years behind bars. 

The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the verdict but commuted the jail term to one year and a half for Chonsawat and three years for Pitichart.

The verdict was supposed to be delivered long ago but the two defendants used legal technicalities to delay the trial. 

Chonsawat and Pitichart asked for a postponement five times. Only one of them would appear in court when they were scheduled to hear the verdicts. The court could not deliver a verdict in absentia. 

The final hearing, which was the sixth, took place yesterday only when the court issued an arrest warrant to bring them to the courtroom. 

Chonsawat is a son of former deputy interior minister Wattana, who is still on the run from a corruption charge and imprisonment. Prior to the court verdict, Chonsawat was chairman of the Samut Prakan PAO while Pitichart was his deputy. 

Chonsawat was removed from the position by the junta in June for irregularities in budget spending. 

Chonsawat is not only a popular local politician but also a well-known figure among car racers and celebrities. His marriage with ex-wife actress Janie Thienphosuvani was the talk of the town last year.