Bangkok (The Nation) - PLAINTIFFS in the controversial black leopard poaching case said yesterday that they would appeal against the acquittal of a construction tycoon, saying it did not justly punish the wealthy, powerful alleged offender.
Representatives from the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP), the Office of the Attorney-General and Seub Nakhasathien Foundation told the press in Bangkok yesterday that the plaintiffs, after reading the full verdict for the case, had noticed loopholes. These they said had lessened the punishment for the prime defendant, hence they have decided to appeal against the verdict.
Secretary to the deputy attorney-general and chief of the plaintiff’s legal team, Somjet Amnuaisawat, said even though the plaintiffs found the verdict acceptable – as all four defendants had been sentenced to jail and fined – it was found that the prime defendant, Premchai Karnasuta, had got away with a lesser punishment.
“We found the court drew a straightforward conclusion based only on evidence and witness accounts. This eventually allowed Premchai to evade the major charge of illegally poaching in a wildlife sanctuary and get away with an easier punishment,” Somjet said.
Premchai, who is president of giant construction firm Italian-Thai Development, and three other persons in his group were arrested by park officers on site with the carcass of a black leopard. They were suspected to have slain the protected species during a hunting trip in the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi on February 2018. The Thong Pha Phum Court delivered the verdict in this case on March 19 this year.
Premchai was convicted of three crimes: carrying firearms in public without permission, aiding others in hunting for sport in a wildlife sanctuary without permission, and illegally possessing the carcass of a protected species. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail for these offences.
However, the court acquitted him and two other defendants – Premchai’s driver Yong Dodkruea and his cook Natee Riemsan – for the charges of hunting a protected animal without permission and illegally collecting wildlife items in a national forest reserve. Only the group’s hunter, Thanee Thummart, was convicted of all the charges.
Separately, Premchai and Thanee will have to pay Bt2 million to the DNP as compensation for the slaying of the black leopard.
Somjet said the court’s reason for dropping these two prominent charges was a lack of evidence against the three defendants. Premchai also testified in court that he had not hunted the black leopard.
“Though there may not be enough evidence to confirm Premchai’s role in the hunting of the black leopard, the court did not consider the fact that his intentions were clear, as a hunter accompanied his group and he had intentionally brought firearms into the protected forest reserve,” he said.
“Since Premchai was acquitted of these two major charges, he escaped at least five years in prison and/or a Bt50,000 fine.”
Kanita Ouitavon, chief of the DNP Wildlife Forensic Science Unit, also noted that the autopsy of the black leopard carcass clearly showed that Premchai’s team was planning to hunt a black leopard from the very beginning.
“We found that the carcass of the black leopard was professionally butchered and skinned. Its tail was cooked in the soup that Premchai consumed and its skin was carefully frayed and pickled in salt,” Kanita disclosed.
She argued that it was very unlikely that Premchai was in the dark or not involved in in the hunting of the black leopard.
Somjet said that since the plaintiffs found the verdict unsatisfactory, they will take the case to the Appeals Court.
He revealed that the officers of DNP, Office of the Attorney-General and Seub Nakhasathien Foundation are now working together to prepare the appeal and litigation in the Appeals Court.
