Former Democrat party deputy leader Prinn Panitchpakdi has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, after he was found guilty of sexually abusing an 18-year-old student at a Bangkok restaurant in 2021.

He was convicted by the Bangkok South Criminal Court on August 10^th, but it was announced by Kosonlavat Intujunyong, deputy spokesman of the Office of the Attorney-General yesterday (Tuesday).

According to the charge, Prinn lured the student to a roof-top restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 11 in 2021, ostensibly to discuss a job and to teach her about share trading. The student later filed a complaint with Lumpini police, claiming that she was sexually abused during their private meeting.

Kosonlavat said that the Bangkok South Criminal Court is scheduled to deliver the verdict in another sexual abuse case against Prinn on September 25^th.

Altogether, 16 cases of sexual abuse have been filed against Prinn, although the statute of limitations has expired on some and some of the alleged offences took place outside Thailand, according to police.

Prinn, who was once a rising star in the Democrat party, was forced to quit his political posts in April 2022. His actions, and the handling of them, had a significant impact on the reputation of the Democrat party.