Embattled Thai minister admits to court sentence in Australia

The minister travelled to Australia in April 1993 and returned in April 1996 "on completion of the sentence the Australian court imposed", the statement from his lawyers said.revealed last week that Thammanat, then a young soldier known as Manat Bophlom, was jailed for a minimum of four years after pleading guilty to conspiring to import 3.2 kilograms of heroin.

Details from the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal judgment dismissing an appeal on sentence severity by Manat Bophlom and Sorasat Tiemtad.Thammanat’s statement on Monday that he travelled to Australia under the name of Patchara Prompao and that he returned to Thailand in 1996 contradict Australian court documents.revealed that Australian court documents show Prompao, using the name Manat Bophlom, was arrested on April 15, 1993, and charged with conspiring to import $4.1 million of heroin.

When told by a judge in November 1993 he faced up to nine years' jail, he began co-operating in return for a lesser sentence. He pleaded guilty on November 15, 1993, and was sentenced in the NSW District Court on March 31, 1994, to six years’ jail with a non-parole period of four years. He appealed against the severity of his sentence and, on March 10, 1995, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal rejected his application.

Thammanat’s statement cited two Thai royal pardons among other evidence that his legal team claimed meant there was no impediment to serving as either an MP or cabinet minister.Those with drug-trafficking convictions are barred from cabinet posts, although the government's top legal mind says the rule does not apply in Thammanat's case because the conviction was recorded overseas.

Thammanat had earlier threatened to launch 100 defamation lawsuits and denounced last week’s scandals as being politically motivated.He has also been quoted on the BBC Thai service as saying "if you bring down me, you bring down the government".He has faced a week of negative headlines about everything from the heroin trafficking case and his spotty military record to claims his doctorate was fraudulently obtained.

mevanssmh TheRuffStuff “court sentence on a drug trafficking charge” Straight out of a B movie — the most cringe-worthy one!! ThailandOnly ธรรมนัส

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