A former senior park official was on Wednesday sentenced to three months in prison and fined 5,000 baht by the Tak provincial court after he was guilty of forest encroachment.

The prison term was, however, suspended for two years.

The case dated back to September last year when a team of forest rangers raided a resort home located on a four-rai plot of land at Miskok mountain in Ban Pradang, Wang Chao district, allegedly owned by Samak Donnapee, who was then director of the national park division of the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

It was discovered that this same plot of land had been occupied by Ms Saowanee Piyawee who was charged with forest encroachment and sentenced to four months in jail.

She was also evicted from the house by a court’s order.

The case went to the Appeals Court which gave Ms Saowanee two-year suspended jail-term and fined 20,000 baht. But the land and house were later found to be Samak’s possession.