The military court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for Nopporn Suppipat, a Thai energy businessman, accused of falsely claiming about the monarchy, in the scandal related to a high ranking officer and the family of the royal-assigned surname.The military court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for Nopporn Suppipat, a Thai energy businessman, accused of making false claims about the monarchy, in the scandal related to high-ranking police officers and the family with a royally-assigned surname.

 

At least eight people have been charged with lèse majesté in the crackdown on the network of Pol Lt Gen Pongpat Chayapan, the former Commander of the Central Investigation Bureau and the family of the royal-assigned surname Akharapongpreecha, now withdrawn. 

 

Apart from lèse majesté, the police accused Nopporn of assault, destroying others’ property, and coercion. 

 

Nopporn, the president of Wind Energy, holds 31st place in Thailand’s 50 Richest, as ranked by Forbes Thailand. According to the magazine, his assets are worth about 25,600 million baht (780 million USD). 

 

Earlier on Sunday the police arrested Chalach Phothirath and Natthanan Thanaweat as perpetrators, along with the Akharapongpreecha siblings, of lèse majesté and holding others for ransom.

 

The two suspects were accused of cooperating with the three Akharapongpreecha siblings and other perpetrators in kidnapping Bundit Chotiwittayagul, a real estate businessman, on 23 June 2014 in Bangkok in an attempt to force him to reduce the debt which the Akharapongpreecha siblings owed, from 120 million baht (3.66 million USD) to 20 million baht (610,000 USD).

 

According to police press briefing on Sunday, Chalach and Natthanan confessed to the kidnapping and ransom charges. However, they denied the lèse majesté allegations.