The Supreme Court amended the judgment, sentencing a former prominent lawyer to three years in prison for embezzling 3 million baht in bail money for “Benz Racing,” without suspension of sentence. The defendant was taken to Bangkok Remand Prison. “Benz” expressed satisfaction that the defendant was sentenced to imprisonment.
At 16:00 on 3 Aug 2026 GMT+7, at the Criminal Court, the court read the Supreme Court ruling on case number Black 3452/2019, in which Mrs. Supornpen Wororojcharoendej was the plaintiff suing Mr. Siwawit Samretphon, a former lawyer, as the defendant for false accusation and false testimony. This followed the arrest of Mr. Siwawit by Pathum Thani Police under a warrant from the Criminal Court after he fled and failed to appear for the verdict on 7 Jul 2026.
The plaintiff's complaint stated that on 15 Nov 2017, the defendant brought false accusations against the plaintiff in the Criminal Court case number Black 3534/2017, involving justice-related offenses causing damage and defamation. The defendant alleged the plaintiff had unlawfully taken a contract document. On 6 Oct 2017, the plaintiff allegedly used this contract as false evidence in a civil court case; however, in reality, the plaintiff neither took nor used false evidence. When the defendant filed this case, he was a lawyer but was later removed from the lawyer registry by the Lawyers Council on 8 Feb 2018. The defendant's actions were fraudulent with intent to criminally punish the plaintiff. On 5 Mar 2018, the defendant gave false testimony in case number Black 3534/2017 (which was later dismissed by the court).
The trial court ruled that the defendant committed multiple distinct offenses and must be punished for each count. For false accusation, the defendant was sentenced to one year in prison; for false testimony in a criminal trial, two years. The total sentence was three years. The appeals court reduced the total sentence to eight months.
The Supreme Court amended the verdict, sentencing the defendant to three years in prison without suspension, in line with the trial court's decision.
Subsequently, the court issued a detention order for correctional officers to take Mr. Siwawit to serve the three-year prison sentence at Bangkok Remand Prison as per the Supreme Court ruling.
Afterward, Benz Racing stated satisfaction that the defendant was sentenced to imprisonment. Regarding the civil case, Benz filed a claim for damages totaling 3,100,000 baht. The court ordered the defendant to pay 3 million baht. However, asset investigations revealed the defendant lacks sufficient assets to enforce the judgment, resulting in bankruptcy proceedings. Benz expressed gratitude to Mr. Thanakrit Jitraareerath for assisting and coordinating with police to arrest the defendant to hear the verdict. Benz hopes this case serves as a warning to those involved in legal disputes who might encounter lawyers claiming they can manipulate cases or offer assistance, causing financial loss. He urged caution toward lawyers with such behavior. Finally, despite the lengthy legal battle, the defendant ultimately received a prison sentence.