Surapong gets 1 year in Thaicom case
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders yesterday handed former information and communication technology (ICT) minister Surapong Suebwonglee a one-year jail term over the Thaicom shareholding case.
The nine judges unanimously ruled Surapong was guilty of malfeasance by authorising the amendment of a concession to allow Shin Corp to reduce its minimum shareholding in its satellite affiliate Shin Satellite, now renamed Thaicom, from at least 51% to 40% in 2004.
The court found him to have violated Section 157 of the Criminal Code which prohibits officials from actions which cause damage to the state. The approval by the former ICT minister was made on the grounds it would help the firm boost its competitiveness. However, the court found it was against the principle of the constitution and the telecom law.
Such an action put the telecom business at risk of foreign dominance, the court said. The court also said Surapong failed to seek cabinet approval for the concession change.
Even though Surapong claimed he wrote to seek advice from the Office of the Attorney-General, he still concealed the fact the cabinet secretary-general at the time refused to bring the matter before the cabinet.
Surapong was immediately taken by Corrections Department officials to Bangkok Remand Prison.
The case also involved two other defendants — former permanent secretary for the ICT, Kraisorn Pornsuthi, and former director of the Space Affairs Bureau Thailand, Chaiyan Puengkiatpairote.
The court also found them guilty and sentenced them to one year in jail each before reducing the sentence to a five-year suspended jail term and fining them 20,000 baht each because they acted under the orders of the former minister.
The case was filed by the National AntiCorruption Commission which accused the three of malfeasance. It took place in 2004 when Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister.
On Aug 4, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders also handed Surapong a suspended one-year prison sentence over another 2008 malfeasance case.