Juthamas mum on charges

Thai authorities reacted awkwardly yesterday after reports that the US film-making couple convicted of bribing former tourism chief Juthamas Siriwan have been sentenced to six months in jail in their homeland, which has brought into the spotlight Thailand's snail-paced legal action against her.

Gerald Green, 78, and Patricia Green, 55, who were convicted last September on charges of conspiracy, violating anti-corruption laws and money-laundering, also face six months' home detention and must pay US$250,000 (Bt8 million) restitution.

The US punishment flies in the face of the Thai justice system, which has not even formally charged Juthamas with accepting the couple's $1.8 million bribes when the Americans sought to organise the Bangkok Film Festival during the government of Thaksin Shinawatra.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission disclosed yesterday that it had only sent Juthamas details of the charges against her less than two weeks ago. The normal NACC process requires that Juthamas respond to the charges before it decides whether to seek formally to prosecute her.

She has not surfaced to defend herself with the NACC, and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday admitted that it did not know her whereabouts, or even whether she was still in Thailand.

Her pending case in Thailand is understood to be part of the reason the United States, where she was indicted along with the Greens, has not made any known attempt to seek her extradition. If the United States pushes for her extradition, Thai prosecutors and the Foreign Ministry will play a major role in deciding whether she will be only the second Thai to be sent there to face legal proceedings.

"We haven't received any extradition request from the United States," said Thani Thongpakdi, the Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman.

The Foreign Ministry thus remains in a more comfortable situation than the NACC and the DSI.

The DSI was the first agency to launch the investigation, but as the case involved alleged government corruption, it was later handed over to the NACC. It has long been established that alleged irregularities plaguing the Bangkok Film Festival while she was in charge of the Tourism Authority of Thailand involved matters that were under her direct powers.

"We have received all necessary information in the case, which only requires her response to proceed," said Methi Krongkaew, head of the NACC subcommittee investigating the scandal. "We sent her a notification of the charges on July 31 but she has never come to us to defend herself."

Methi was part of a Thai delegation that visited the United States to get information from the US Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and relevant courts.

The US couple were found guilty of bribing Juthamas for contracts to manage and operate the annual film festival in Bangkok. The US indictment said the Greens paid $1.8 million in bribes to the former Thai tourism chief's daughter, via bank accounts in Singapore, New Jersey and Britain set up in the names of the former governor's daughter and a friend.

The couple are expected to get heavier punishment. It was reported that the fact Gerald Green is 77 and uses an oxygen tank for emphysema clearly played a role in the judge's relative leniency. The producer of "Rescue Dawn" and his wife were last year found guilty of bribery and money-laundering under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

They were arrested in 2007 after running the Bangkok International Film Festival from 2002 to 2006.

DSI chief Tarit Pengdit admitted yesterday that he didn't know whether Juthamas and her daughter were still in Thailand.

"After we handed over the case to the NACC, we have no jurisdiction over the investigation. Now we can't tell if she and her daughter remain in Thailand or they have left the country," he said.

This year's Bangkok International Film Festival is scheduled to be held from November 19-29.