The Criminal Court has sentenced celebrity lawyer Sittra Biabungkerd, widely known as “Lawyer Tum”, to six years in prison without suspension after finding him guilty in a fraud case involving a wealthy woman.
The ruling was issued on Thursday in the case arising from a criminal complaint by Jatuporn Ubonlert, also known as “Je Aoy” or “Madam Aoy”.
Mr Sittra is preparing to appeal the ruling. The court on Thursday afternoon granted his release on bail of 1 million baht, on condition that he not leave the country.
Ms Jatuporn, who lives in France, came into a large sum of money when she won the EuroMillions lottery. She claimed she had been deceived by Mr Sittra, while the lawyer argued the money had been given voluntarily out of affection.
Mr Sittra was the first defendant in the case, alongside six co-defendants: his wife, Patthitta Biabungkerd; Pintira Kariwan, a sister of Mr Sittra’s wife; Nuwat Yongyut, a close associate; Sarinee Nutchanat, Mr Nuwat’s girlfriend; and two employees of a car showroom, Kaewsan Sukphon and Mananpan Rumthreeraphat.
Prosecutors said the defendants fraudulently obtained large sums of money from Ms Jatuporn through many transactions. These included 71 million baht purportedly for investment in an online lottery platform, 13 million for the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz, and 39 million baht allegedly paid in bitcoin for hiring a Chinese artist.
The defendants were divided into three groups. The first group consisted of Mr Sittra, his wife and his sister-in-law. The second involved Mr Nuwat and Ms Sarinee. The third group comprised the two car showroom employees.
All were charged with fraud committed in the course of business, money laundering and conspiracy to launder money.
Ms Patthitta and her sister were acquitted on Thursday. The two showroom employees were acquitted earlier, while Mr Nuwat and Ms Sarinee were convicted in a separate judgement that is currently under appeal.
The court found Mr Sittra guilty of fraud and violations under the Computer Crime Act. He was sentenced to four years and six months on the fraud charge, and an additional one year and six months for computer crime, bringing the total to six years without suspension.
The court also ordered Mr Sittra to repay Ms Jatuporn 72.5 million baht, with interest at a rate of 5% per year, according to Panthep Puapongpan, chairman of the Yamfao Pandin Foundation and legal adviser to Ms Jatuporn.
Mr Sittra and his wife have been in custody since the day of their arrest on Nov 7, 2024.
Police caught up with the couple while they were travelling in their Porsche Cayenne on the Kabin Buri-Chachoengsao Highway in Phanom Sarakham district of Chachoengsao, apparently trying to flee after being named in arrest warrants. (Story continues below)
High-profile ‘people’s lawyer’
Mr Sittra was well known across Thailand as a “people’s lawyer”, helping disadvantaged people facing legal trouble and exposing corrupt police. At one point he had more than 2 million followers on Facebook.
Among his most high-profile exposés was the release of a video showing the former police detective Thitisan “Joe Ferrari” Utthanaphon suffocating a drug suspect to death with a plastic bag during an interrogation. Thitisan was convicted of murder and later took his life in prison.
Mr Sittra was also the first to reveal sexual assault allegations that led to the conviction of Prinn Panitchpakdi, a former deputy leader of the Democrat Party.
However, the lawyer raised eyebrows when he decided to defend Chaiphol “Uncle Phol” Wipha, who was accused of murdering his three-year-old niece in Mukdahan province.
In the ensuing media frenzy surrounding the case, Chaiphol become a social-media star, with many people believing his protestations of innocence. But he was later found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in jail.
