FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Supreme Court suspends Jaruvan’s prison sentence

Supreme Court suspends Jaruvan’s prison sentence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the two-year prison sentence given Jaruvan Maintaka, the once-popular auditor-general of the State Audit Office of Thailand (SAO).


In commuting the jail term rendered by a lower court four years ago, the top court noted her plea for leniency based on her age, 70, her otherwise spotless record both professional and criminal, and her long and admirable career as a state auditor.


Warned to abide by the law in the next two years or be immediately jailed, Khunying Jaruvan also saw her original Bt20,000 fine reduced to Bt15,000.


The Criminal Court found her guilty of malfeasance on November 30, 2015, for reimbursing substantial travel costs for several religious events. 


The two-year prison sentence it imposed was upheld in the Court of Appeals on February 23, 2017.


Another senior SAO official was also sentenced to two years in jail in the same case. He died from cardiac arrest earlier this year.

RELATED
nationthailand