Extortion lands official and co in jail
A former land official was yesterday sentenced to 20 years' jail and a temporary office worker got seven years for demanding bribes for land-title deeds.
Bunchoo Limraksasin was found guilty of bribery and money laundering by the Criminal Court. He had been employed as an official at the land office in Kathu district in Phuket at separate times between December 2001 and June 2003. Office worker Meena Kalra was found guilty of conspiring with Bunchoo to launder money. The court heard that Bunchoo had accumulated Bt5.4 million from processing land-title deeds for one woman in 2002. She reported the demands to the police who later arrested him in a sting operation. The charges stated that Bunchoo transferred more than Bt17 million to two bank accounts in Meena's name and spent around Bt2.1 million to purchase a condominium in Bangkok. The court found Bunchoo's denial of bribe demands and money transfers unconvincing. It noted Meena was unable to explain Bt17 million in her bank accounts while earning a monthly salary of Bt5,000.
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