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	Relatives of the defendants broke into tears inside the courtroom upon hearing the final verdict, which ended the years-long saga.&nbsp;</div>
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	Convicted in the dredger case were Jong-arch Pothisunthorn, former director-general of the Marine Department, the department&rsquo;s former deputy director-general Second Lt Sanchai Kulpreecha, and five other former officials at the department: Second Lt Prawej Rakphan, Ittipon Kanjanakij, Danai Sripitak, Second Lt Wichet Pongthongjarern, and Panya Songjarern.&nbsp;</div>
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	The crimes took place between 1998 and 2001, during which they had to examine products submitted by the supplier, Ellicott Company Limited, in the Bt2-billion contract to procure three cutter-suction dredgers for the department.&nbsp;</div>
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	The Supreme Court found that all seven defendants played a role in the examination and amending of the contract in favour of the supplier. Ellicott was unable to deliver the dredgers within the time frame mentioned in the initial contract.&nbsp;</div>

Ex-officials jailed over dredger purchase

The Supreme Court Wednesday handed down a two-year jail term against seven former officials of the Marine Department, including its former director-general, for abuse of authority related to dredger procurement.