BANGKOK
A royal court official in Thailand - charged with abusing his ties to the palace - could face the death penalty, police confirmed Monday.
Former Grand Chamberlain of the Royal Household Bureau Montri Sotangkur has been charged with les majeste and malfeasance for using his position in the Royal Household to gain favours, bribes and positions from various government bodies.
The 53-year-old - who worked for former princess Srirasmi - could face the death penalty for the first charge and up to 15 years in prison for the second, a national police headquarters spokesperson confirmed to Anadolu Agency on Monday.
Police General Prawuth Thawornsiri added that the Anti Money Laundering Office (AMLO) had seized more than 10 million baht ($296,500) belong to Sotangkur and that the case against him would be finalized by the end of the month.
Sotangkur has been detained at an army training camp in Thawi Watthana district since June 10 when Crime Suppression Division police arrested him.
The Bangkok Post reported Saturday that he has since confessed to four charges, including demanding bribes and abuse of authority, after allegedly using his royal connection to demand a seat on the boards of PTT Plc and CAT Telecom Plc in 2011.
He is also suspected of involvement with a criminal gang led by disgraced, convicted and jailed former Central Investigation Bureau chief Pol Lt Gen Pongpat Chayapan - an uncle of the former princess.
Princess Srirasmi's family figured at the center of a corruption scandal last November, after which Thailand's Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn - her husband - was forced to strip several members of their royal family name.
Srirasmi - the crown prince's third wife - was then “authorized" to resign from the family a few days later.
Her parents - Apiruj Suwadee, 72, and Wanthanee Suwadee, 66 - were also jailed in March, having been found guilty of using their royal status to pressure police into imprisoning a young woman that the mother suspected of having an affair with her husband.
Thailand has some of the harshest lese majeste laws in the world; designed to protect the country's highly revered monarch and his family, which the ruling junta views as above politics.
Due to the strict laws, local media were forced to report with extreme caution on the scandal. Initially they were unable to even mention the connection between Chayapan and Srirasmi.
The law punishes offenders with jail terms of between three to 15 years.
On Monday, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand said that it had been forced to cancel a planned discussion on lese majeste - article 112 of the country's Criminal Code - scheduled for Wednesday after the military had threatened to seal off the building where the club is located.
On asking the country's ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) for a writtem demand, the club said in a statement that the NCPO had said it would not issue such a letter "because they fear it would be used in the media to damage their image."
The statement added that a previous letter from the police had asked for "cooperation in cancelling the event," stating that it would "sow disunity in Thai society, and encourage people to break the law and stir up unrest."
"We told them these fears were groundless, and declined their request," the statement added.
