Corrections Dept agrees to let hunter Premchai walk out of jail under parole on Tuesday

Premchai’s team of lawyers, led by Withoon Praiyaem, arrived at the Thong Pha Phum district prison at 11.15am on Tuesday. Several reporters were also waiting outside to cover his release.

The Supreme Court sentenced Premchai, former president of Italian-Thai Development Plc, to three years and two months in jail on December 8, 2021, for hunting and killing protected species, including a rare black leopard in the World Heritage Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi in 2018. He was arrested on February 6, 2018.

He, his driver and two other hunters were charged by public prosecutors for unlawfully hunting in a wildlife sanctuary and illegally possessing firearms.

The Corrections Department announced in a press release that Premchai was among 113 inmates eligible for early release under the conditions of probation and house arrest.

The statement from the department said Premchai would be exempted from wearing an EM bracelet because he suffers from diabetes and the bracelet may cause abrasions.

The department added that Premchai will be considered as having completed his jail term on December 7.