Appeals Court upholds death sentences for ex-minister Banyin

Banyin had also been handed down the death sentence by the Appeals Court in July for the murder of the brother of a judge who was hearing the high-profile case.

The verdict was read at the Phra Khanong Criminal Court.

The case against Banyin, a former Nakhon Sawan MP, was jointly filed by Sirirat Sae Tang, the wife of the murdered billionaire.

Chuwong had died in suspicious circumstances on June 26, 2015.

Initially, Banyin reported to police that Chuwong had died in a car accident when the vehicle driven by Banyin hit a tree by the side of Chalerm Phrakiart Rama IX Road between Soi 48 and Soi 50 in Dok Mai subdistrict of Prawet district in Bangkok. Banyin said Chuwong was in the front passenger seat.

The wife and Chuwong’s family suspected there was a foul play so they called on police to investigate the case, leading to a murder charge against Banyin.

The primary court convicted Banyin of premeditated murder in January 2021, but Banyin appealed against the ruling.

The Appeals Court’s verdict stated that it was a fact that Banyin was the last person to be with Chuwong after they left a golf course at 8.11pm on June 26, 2015.

The verdict noted that the car had reached the accident scene at 10.21pm, although the two spots were only 37 kilometres apart. The court said the over two hours time taken to cover a distance of 37km was suspiciously long.

Banyin had claimed that he was driving at 80km per hour and had swerved his car to avoid a vehicle from the opposite side that had cut into his lane, and ended up hitting a tree. But the Appeals Court quoted police as saying that security cameras did not show any vehicle on the opposite lane at that time. Instead, security cameras showed Banyin driving at the slow speed of 30kph.

The Appeals Court added that an autopsy showed Chuwong had not died from the accident but from injuries sustained after his head was hit with a hard object. The court quoted the autopsy results as proving that Chuwong also suffered bruises on his face and eyes, and the leftover food in his stomach pointed to his death before 10pm that day.

The verdict noted that the co-plaintiff and her relatives had found evidence of transfer of shares belonging to Chuwong to a broker, Uracha Wachirakulthon. The two transfers were worth 30 million baht and 228 million baht, although Uracha was not Chuwong’s relative.

Earlier, the South Bangkok Criminal Court had sentenced Banyin and Uracha to eight years and four years in jail, respectively, for fraud in the transfer of shares, the verdict of the Appeals Court stated.

The verdict said the court was convinced that Banyin had been involved in the falsifying of the share ownership. The Appeals Court said it believed that Banyin, who was a close friend of Chuwong, had lured the victim to play golf and offered to drive him back home but drove him to a spot where Banyin and his accomplices murdered the billionaire to prevent him from finding out about the share transfers.

After the murder, the verdict said, Banyin drove the car with his right hand and carried the body of Chuwong with the left hand to hit the tree in order to try and conceal the murder.

The court ruled that Banyin had committed premeditated murder and had staged the accident to conceal the crime.

The Appeals Court in July had handed down the death sentence to Banyin for the murder of a brother of a judge who was hearing the Chuwong case.

Banyin, 58, was found guilty of murdering Veerachai Sakuntaprasert, the elder brother of judge Panida Sakuntaprasert, on February 4, 2020.

The court of first instance in December 2020 had given Banyin life sentence after he confessed to the crime but the Appeals Court gave him the death sentence. Veerachai was abducted and later murdered to pressure the judge.

Banyin was not brought to the court to hear the ruling on Thursday. The verdict was read to him via video conference at Bang Kwang Central Prison.

Only seven relatives of Chuwong and their lawyer came to the court to hear the verdict.

Wanpen Thanathamsiri, elder sister of Chuwong, said she and other relatives had fought for seven years for justice for the deceased billionaire.

Wanpen said it was hard for her side to find evidence because Banyin was a former police officer and was well-versed in law.

“We would like to thank the Crime Suppression Division and the Forensic Science Evidence Division for working very hard to gather the evidence for us,” Wanpen said.

“This included scientific evidence used to prove the car’s speed. We also would like to thank experts from several sectors and doctors for their useful opinions. Although there were no witnesses, the injuries became forensic evidence that were accepted by the court.

“So, Banyin has been given death sentences by the Appeals Court in both cases,” Wanpen added.

“I’m pleased with the ruling. If he appeals in the Supreme Court, I believe the final verdict will be handed down in no time.”