FORMER TV news anchor Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda is in high spirits in prison despite his bail application being rejected by the Supreme Court, according to his lawyer.

Sorrayuth’s lawyer Monanant Ruangjamras said he would now work on an appeal to the Supreme Court with a revised bail application. He gave no details about the conditions that he would recommend in the new application. His legal team has 30 days to appeal to the court, he said. The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the bail petitions of Sorrayuth and two other defendants in the bribery and embezzlement case involving commercial air time at the state-owned public broadcaster Mass Communications Organisation of Thailand (MCOT).

The top court’s ruling followed yesterday’s upholding of the lower court’s verdicts by the Court of Appeal.  Defence lawyers offered bail sureties of Bt4 million for each but this was rejected by the Supreme Court.

The lower court handed down jail terms of 13 years and four months to Sorrayuth and Montha Thiradej, an employee of Sorrayuth’s company Rai Som, and a jail term of 20 years to former MCOT official Pichapa Iamsa-ard, all of which were upheld by the Appeals Court on Tuesday. Krit Krasaedhibaya, commander of the Bangkok Remand Prison, where Sorrayuth spent Tuesday night, said yesterday that the once-popular news anchor showed signs of stress and asked for religious booklets to be read before going to bed at around midnight. “Sorrayuth’s stress is at a normal level and he does not need to consult with the prison’s psychiatrist or take any stress medication,” he said. He said a medical examination showed that Sorrayuth had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, without any worrying health issues. Sorrayuth had many visitors yesterday but he did not make any special requests, Krit said. “Fellow inmates do not seem to get excited upon meeting him although Sorrayuth is well known. A lot of well-known people have been detained here before, including several politicians,” he said. He added that there are about 4,100 inmates at the prison.

Source:
courtesy of BANGKOK POST

by BANGKOK POST

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]