Court releases Prinn on bail, slaps him with travel ban
The South Bangkok Criminal Court on Sunday agreed to temporarily release former Democrat politician Prinn Panitchpakdi provided he does not leave the country.
The court also approved the investigation team’s request to temporarily detain the suspect for 12 days from April 17 to 28 pending an investigation into two sexual harassment cases and one rape charge.
Prinn, the son of former deputy PM and World Trade Organisation chief Supachai Panitchpakdi, is not allowed to leave Thailand without the court’s permission.
The politician has denied all charges and quit the party as well as all his posts on Thursday after a former intern accused him of molesting her.
Prinn was escorted to the court on Sunday morning by Pol Maj-General Trairong Piwpan, a deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau who is in charge of the case, and officers from Lumpini Police Station.
Bail guarantee for the two sexual harassment charges was set at 200,000 baht each and 300,000 baht for the rape allegation. The court did not set any other bail conditions apart from a travel ban.
Trairong said since Prinn has denied all charges, the case will now be handled directly by the investigators. He said both the victims and the suspect will be given full opportunity to provide evidence and witnesses to the investigators.
Lawyer Sittha Biabangkerd, who exposed the allegations against Prinn, claims more victims will come forward on Monday to file charges against the former Democrat deputy leader.
