The King of Thailand has called again Premchai Karnasuta’s royal decorations and insignia due to the ultimate verdict of the famous ‘black panther’ poaching case which resulted in the former building tycoon’s imprisonment.
In December 2021, the Supreme Court sentenced Premchai – the former president of the development conglomerate Italian-Thai – to greater than three years in jail after finding him guilty of hunting endangered wildlife. The outcome was rare given Thailand’s historical past of letting the super-rich go unpunished for their crimes.
Premchai and three staff have been arrested at Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in February 2018 in possession of a black leopard carcass, skinned carcasses of other protected wildlife, and weapons.
Today, information emerged that HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn had recalled the insignia and the 4th degree Rattanaporn Medal bestowed upon Premchai in 2005 by HM King Rama IX, “due to the Supreme Court’s Environmental Division’s verdict of imprisonment as a outcome of [Premchai] jointly looking in a national park without permission, jointly acting in a means which was detrimental to the National Forest Reserve, joint possession of firearms and ammunition with out permission.”
The royal announcement was dated April 25, 2023, and co-signed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The document detailed that Premchai’s identify had already been withdrawn from the list of royal insignia.
The court also upheld jail phrases for Premchai’s two accomplices. Moneyback have been ordered to pay a fine of 2 million baht.
“The summary of the Supreme Court’s ruling is that the three defendants jointly possessed a black panther carcass,” the court docket said. Premchai can be “jailed for 38 months,” added the court docket. He is still serving his jail sentence at current.
After Premchai’s arrest in 2018, the high-profile case sparked concerns among the public that the defendant could purchase his method out of prison in the same method that Vorayuth Yoovidhya – the grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-founder – escaped jail after killing a Thai police officer in a hit-and-run incident in Bangkok in 2012..