BANGKOK
Three brothers of a disgraced Thai princess were given five years and six months in jail Friday on several charges including abusing their royal status, just nine days after her parents were also sentenced for lese-majeste.
Prison wardens transported the brothers to the Phra Khanong provincial court, according to the Bangkok Post, where they were also found guilty of illegal detention, theft and illegal possession of firearms.
Narong Suwadee, Natthapol Suwadee and Sitthisak Suwadee – aged 41, 29 and 24, respectively -- were initially each handed 11 years in jail, but the sentence was reduced by half because they pleaded guilty -- a common bargain plea in lese-majeste cases.
The prosecution said that the men had forcibly seized a debtor from his house at gunpoint in March 2014 before taking him to their Bangkok residence, where they coerced him into paying the debts by citing the monarchy.
The brothers, accused of membership to a criminal network allegedly run by their uncle police General Pongpat Chayapan, were imprisoned immediately after the ruling Friday.
The case had initially involved seven defendants, but the other four denied the charges, and the court has asked prosecutors to file separate charges against them.
Last Wednesday, the parents of former Princess Srirasmi were given two years and six months in jail for lese-majeste after they pleaded guilty to using their royal status to pressure police into imprisoning a young woman the mother suspected of having an affair with her husband.
Wanthanee Suwadee, 66, was accused of using her daughter’s royal status to level false fraud charges against a teenage girl, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
The case highlights the nepotistic world of Thai high society, where simple relation to a dignitary, politician, or member of the royal family can carry great influence.
Srirasmi, now Thanpuying Srirasmi Suwadee, has had a spectacular fall from grace after several of her brothers, sisters and her uncle General Chayapan were accused in November of massive corruption.
Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, who made Srirasmi his third wife in 2001, withdrew the royal name bestowed on her and some of her relatives at the end of November. The Royal household is soon expected to announce his marriage to a former Thai airways flight attendant.
Srirasmi resigned from the royal family a few days later and has since been living with her parents in their compound in central Rachaburi province. She received 200 million baht ($6 million) from the crown property bureau after relinquishing her royal titles.
The fate of Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, the child she had with the crown prince in 2005, is unclear, but he is understood not to be living with his mother.
The country's stringent lese-majeste law, which can lead to prison sentences of between three and 15 years, is interpreted widely by courts, and prohibits public discussion of the royal family.
The extent of the censorship is such that Thai newspapers that published news of the arrest of General Chayapan in November had to wait for several days before mentioning his family connection with then Princess Srirasmi.
They only did it after it was extensively reported in international media.
Chayapan, who was head of the powerful Central Investigation Bureau until the corruption scandal exploded, has since been sentenced to 31 years and nine months in jail after confessing to lese-majeste, bribery and money laundering charges.
Since the ruling Thai junta overthrew the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in a May 22 coup, the number of cases of people detained for lese-majeste -- either awaiting trial or already sentenced -- has jumped.
The exact number of detainees has not been made public by Thai authorities.
Release on bail is systemically denied for those charged and all lese-majeste trials since the coup have been held on camera in front of a military court.
In a recent instance, Bundit Aneeya, 74, was indicted Feb. 19 for comparing the various forms of monarchical systems during a seminar.
