Court sentences Pojaman to three years in jail

The Criminal Court on Thursday found wife of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, guilty of intentionally avoiding tax payment of Bt546 million for the transfer of 4.5 million shares of the Shinawatra Computer and Communications' shares worth Bt738 million.

Found guilty in the same charges were her adopted brother; Bannaphot Damapong and her secretary Kanjanapa Honghern.

The Court sentenced Khunying Pojaman, Bannaphot to a total of three years in jail; two years for the charges relating to the conspiracy to evade tax and one year for giving falsified statements. Kanjanapa faces two years in jail.

The Court said the three defendants had committed serious crimes and filed false statements with the government agencies in order to avoid paying taxes. They intended not to pay taxes despite that they were rich people.

The court ruled that the prosecution's evidence was solid and indisputable. The three suspects were found guilty of fraud or collaboration to evade taxes.

In addition, Pojaman and Bannapot were also found guilty of filing false claims and presenting false evidence to the authorities with intention to avoid paying taxes.

The court also reprimanded Pojaman in particular, saying that with her high economic, social and political status - especially her status as wife of the then county leader - she should have acted as good example to society.

The Criminal Court rules out every defence argument on the tax evasion case as insubstantial in rebutting the prosecution evidence.

The court says the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the defendants committed a conspiracy to evade tax. The ruling says Pojaman and Bhanapot made the shares transfer in the stock market in order to avoid tax liabilities even though there was no real transaction.

Bhanapot admits Pojaman gave shares to him and the court finds this is not a family gift.

The ruling is addressing a key legal issue whether the three defendants intentionally gave falsified statements to the authorities in order to avoid tax liabilities.

The charges were from from transaction, which took place in November 1997, come under the criminal codes of Article 37 (1) (2) of the Revenue Code. Violation of this law is punishable with a fine of between Bt2,000 and Bt200,000 and a jail sentence of between three months and seven years. A multiple violation of this law will result in a jail sentence of not more than 20 years.

The Office of the Attorney General filed the suit on March 26 last year, summoning more than 30 prosecution witnesses to testify including Sak Korsaengruang, spokesman of the nowdefunct Assets Examination Committee who chaired the AEC panel that probed the accusation of tax evasion, and former Finance Ministry permanent secretary and former directorgeneral of the Revenue Department Suparat Kawutkul.

The three defendants denied the charges and almost 20 defence witnesses testified in the case.