Appeals Court Upholds 50-year Jail Sentence of Former Head of the Tourism Authority

BANGKOK – A  Bangkok Court of appeals has upheld the 50-year jail sentence given to former head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Juthamas Siriwanfor taking bribe from American filmmakers in 2007.

The Appeals Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Wednesday ruled to uphold the lower court’s sentence on the former TAT governor Juthamas Siriwan for accepting Bt62 million in bribes from Gerald Green and Patricia Green in favor of the rights to host a Bangkok film festival between 2002 and 2007.

Ms Juthamas’s daughter, Jittisopha, also appeared at the court with her mother on Wednesday.  The lower court found Jittisopha guilty of helping her mother hide the cash in overseas accounts.  She was sentenced to 44 years imprisonment.

But the Appeals Court reduced her sentence to 40 years.

The Court also orders seizure of Bt62 million found to have been transferred by the American couple over 59 transactions into Jittisopha’s bank accounts.