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Published on March 8, 2008

The Chiang Rai Provincial Court yesterday sentenced media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul to nine months in prison for defamation related to his campaign against ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006.

Sondhi sought and received Bt200,000 bail pending an appellate review of his conviction.

"If I am to lose the final judicial review by the Supreme Court, I am prepared to walk into prison with dignity and will not complain, because I abide by the judicial system without any tampering like someone who tries to weaken the charges," he said in reference to Thaksin's alleged attempts to elude the law.

The litigation happened after Sondhi led an anti-Thaksin rally in Rayong. Part of his rally speech highlighted the involvement of a senior forest ranger in disrupting another anti-Thaksin rally in Bangkok by lighting firecrackers near the crowd.

He singled out Kengkat Srihasan as responsible for the attempted disruption. He also insinuated a link between Kengkat, who was then stationed in Chiang Rai with the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, and Yongyuth Tiyapairat, former natural resources and environment minister and a staunch Thaksin ally.

Kengkat sued for libel.

The provincial court ruled in favour of the plaintiff on the grounds that Sondhi had skewed the information with an intention to smear and politicise the firecracker attack.

In the initial sentencing, the court handed down a one-year jail term before granting leniency due to his cooperation in testifying.

The court also ordered the defence to publish a summary of the court's ruling in five national newspapers for seven consecutive days.

The Nation