KANCHANABURI: Accused wildlife poachers Premchai Karnasuta and three others reported to the Thong Pha Phum court for renewal of bail on Monday morning and will report next on April 18.
Mr Premchai, president of Italian-Thai Development Plc, arrived at the district court in Thong Pha Phum district in a van along with his three co-accused and his lawyer about 8.50am.
They showed up as it was the end of their fifth detention period, 60 days after the first detention period started. Police can seek seven detention periods of 12 days each, as their offences make them liable to prison terms of up to 10 years.
Mr Premchai showed no emotions on arrival at the court.
They left about 30 minutes later without answering reporters' questions. Lawyer Withoon Praipram said only that Mr Premchai and the others were scheduled to report again on April 18.
Mr Premchai, 63, and the three others were arrested on the night of Feb 4. They are charged with poaching inside the Thungyai Nareusuan Wildlife Sanctuary, a Unesco World Heritage site in Kanchanaburi province.
The other three are his employees: Yong Dodkhruea, 65, Nathee Riamsaen, 43, and Thanee Thummat, 56.
Police proposed earlier that Mr Premchai be indicted on 11 counts. Public prosecutors last Wednesday dropped five of them, including the charges of colluding to smuggle wildlife-poaching equipment or weapons into a wildlife sanctuary, attempting to illegally hunt in a wildlife sanctuary, and colluding to commit cruelty to wild animals.
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