The criminal court on Wednesday sentenced the parents of the former royal consort for making false claims about the Crown Prince, among other charges, to five years in jail, but since the defendants pleaded guilty the jail term was halved, ASTV-Manager Online reported.
This is only a day after the public prosecutor indicted the couple on Tuesday.
Abhiruj Suwadee, 72, and Wantanee Suwadee, 66, the parents of Srirasmi Suwadee, former Royal Consort of Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, were found guilty of offences under Article 112 or the lèse majesté law, for filing a false police complaint, and framing others, which led to a person serving a term in jail.
The couple defamed Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn by making threats to the victim that they had informed the Crown Prince about their quarrel with the victim, Matichon Online reported on Monday. The quarrel related to an adultery allegation involving Abhiruj and the victim.
The couple first denied all allegations, but later confessed to the charges and said at the press briefing that they had no intention of committing crimes. Their bail requests were repeatedly turned down.
In early February, Sawita or Sangrawee Maneechan, a 31-year-old native of western Ratchaburi Province, filed a complaint against them. She said the alleged crimes committed by the couple took place in 2003, when she was 20 years old. She was falsely accused of committing adultery with Abhiruj. The accusation defamed the Suwadee family and her family. In revenge, Abhiruj allegedly filed a false complaint to a police officer, who is Sawita’s uncle, and forced the officer to prosecute her. The charge led to Sawita being jailed for fraud for a year and six months. She added that the accusations led to her whole family suffering social stigma.
Apart from her parents, close family members of Srirasmi, including her older sister, brother-in-law and younger brothers, are now in jail on various charges, such as encroachment into protected areas, bribery, abduction, and lèse majesté, after the divorce of the disgraced former princess and her demotion to commoner.