Chonsawat is released on Royal pardon after year in prison
Election-fraud convict Chonsawat Asavahame has been released after serving a year in prison, Wasant Singkaselit, deputy director-general of the Corrections Department, said yesterday.
Chonsawat reportedly walked free at 6am and his family took him to a temple in Bangkok to make merit. His aides declined to comment.
The former president of the Samut Prakan Provincial Administration Organisation was paroled from Samut Prakan Central Prison after his jail sentence was commuted to one year and one month under the Royal Decree on Royal Pardons of 2016.
The decree was issued on August 8 to mark the 70th anniversary of His Majesty the King’s accession to the throne and the 84th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.
On August 4, 2015, Chonsawat was convicted of cheating in the 1999 Muang Samut Prakan election and sentenced to one year and six months in jail.
Wasant said Chonsawat’s release was a normal procedure for inmates after being incarcerated for one year and one month.
