The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Offices today sentenced former Pheu Thai’s party-list MP Mrs. Rapeepan Pongruangrong to two months’ imprisonment, without suspension, after finding her guilty of falsely declaring her assets with the intention to conceal her assets from examination.
Mrs. Rapeepan, wife of former red-shirt leader Arisman, was also banned from holding any political post or any position in a political party for five years. The court issued a warrant for her arrest after she failed to show up today to hear the court’s verdict.
Separately today, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Offices ordered the confiscation of Mrs. Rapeepan’s ill-gotten assets, worth about 42.8 million baht, as demanded by the public prosecutors.
The assets include 27.6 million baht in cash deposits in six bank accounts, three land plots worth about 9.5 million baht, a house worth about two million baht and a BMW 7 series worth about 1.8 million baht.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission found her to be unusually rich for having amassed about 42.8 million baht in assets, when her status as an MP ended, without a proper explanation of how she procured the assets.
Her husband, Arisman, and 11 other former core members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship were last week sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for their role in breaking up the ASEAN Summit in Pattaya in 2009.
So far, all 11 former red-shirt leaders failed to show up to serve their time in prison. Warrants have been issued by the court for their arrests.
