"Lawyer Tum" and his wife were brought to court to confront "Jae Aoi" in a fraud lawsuit. He appeared confident but had lost several kilograms in weight. He requested to personally cross-examine the prosecution's witnesses due to his legal knowledge.,
On 4 Mar 2026 GMT+7 at the Criminal Court, the court held the first hearing of the prosecution's witnesses in a case filed by the Special Case Prosecutor's Office and Ms. Jatuporn Ubonlert, known as "Jae Aoi," the plaintiff and co-plaintiff. They filed charges against Mr. Sittra Bieabangkerd, or "Lawyer Tum," Mrs. Patitta Bieabangkerd, or Duan, Lawyer Tum's wife, and Ms. Pintira Karyuan, or Dao, the wife's elder sister, along with four others totaling seven defendants, accused of fraud, habitual fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to launder money.
This morning, Ms. Jatuporn, or "Jae Aoi," arrived at the Criminal Court around 08:40 with a confident demeanor but did not speak to the media.
Additionally, Mr. Panthep Puapongphan, chairman of the Homeland Watch Foundation, who came to the court to support "Jae Aoi" and observe the proceedings, stated that this case is split between two courts: the Civil and Criminal Courts. The Civil Court dismissed the petition and ordered the return of all assets, including land with buildings and bank account funds totaling approximately 71 million baht, which the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) had frozen, back to Lawyer Tum. This was because the court found insufficient evidence to conclude that Lawyer Tum had engaged in habitual fraud constituting the predicate offense of money laundering.
Mr. Panthep added that the prosecution presented only one witness, an AMLO document officer, not an investigator, which he viewed as a weakness in the case. Furthermore, the prosecution did not cross-examine Lawyer Tum or his wife. However, the civil case outcome does not affect the criminal case, where the criminal verdict can override the civil ruling. Today's testimony will start with Ms. Jatuporn as the first witness.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pinij Laksanawisit, Lawyer Tum's attorney, said the court had to bring Lawyer Tum from prison today, and Lawyer Tum will personally cross-examine the prosecution's witnesses due to his legal knowledge. Lawyer Tum can cross-examine the prosecution while dressed in his prison uniform, and the witness examination is expected to last all day.
Reporters noted that as Lawyer Tum entered the courtroom from prison, he was accompanied by his wife and appeared confident. He wore a prison uniform consisting of a cream T-shirt with a red stripe on the left shoulder, black sweatpants with ankle chains, and appeared noticeably thinner, having lost several kilograms. He briefly greeted the media waiting outside before entering the courtroom.