The Fourth Region Appeals Court revised the sentence, sentencing lawyer 'Tum' and a female businesswoman each to one year in prison without suspension in a defamation case involving the Sahasaeng family over 25 million baht, and ordered them to pay damages as well.
On 29 October 2026 at Nakhon Phanom Provincial Court, the Fourth Region Appeals Court delivered its judgment in case number A.1316/2023. The plaintiffs were Mr. Thanabovorn Sirikunakornkul, former secretary to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives; Mr. Supachai Phosu, former Deputy Speaker of the House; and Ms. Suphaphanee Phosu, President of the Nakhon Phanom Provincial Administrative Organization and daughter of Mr. Supachai. They jointly filed suit against Ms. Chochat (also known as Cho Tochuawong), a businesswoman, and Mr. Sitthira Biebangkerd (known as lawyer Tum), a well-known lawyer, as defendants 1 and 2, for defamation by advertisement.
At the end of 2022, both defendants jointly held a press conference alleging that the three plaintiffs demanded 25 million baht to influence a government project. These accusations were false and caused the plaintiffs harm, loss of reputation, and public contempt, leading them to file the lawsuit seeking punishment for the defendants and compensation for damages.
Both defendants denied the charges.
The Nakhon Phanom Provincial Court reviewed the evidence from both sides and, after cross-examination, found both defendants guilty as charged under Criminal Code Section 328 combined with Section 83. Each defendant was sentenced to two years in prison. Their testimonies were somewhat mitigating, so under Criminal Code Section 78, their sentences were reduced by one-third, resulting in one year and four months imprisonment each, without suspension. The court ordered both defendants to jointly pay 900,000 baht to Plaintiff 1 and 500,000 baht each to Plaintiffs 2 and 3, plus 5% annual interest from the filing date (20 September 2023) until full payment. The defendants were also ordered to pay the plaintiffs' litigation fees, with attorney fees set at 90,000 baht for court appearances.
Plaintiff 1 and both defendants filed appeals.
The Fourth Region Appeals Court reviewed the case and revised the sentence to one year imprisonment each for both defendants. It ordered defendants 1 and 2 to jointly pay 200,000 baht in damages plus interest as set by the lower court to Plaintiff 3, dismissed Plaintiff 2's claims, and rejected his request for damages from the defendants.
Aside from these revisions, the rest of the lower court's judgment stands. The court dismissed the civil litigation fees between Plaintiff 2 and the defendants as well as between Plaintiffs 1 and 3 and the defendants at the appeals level.
Subsequently, Defendant 1 filed a bail request with 50,000 baht cash as security, which the court granted, allowing temporary release during the appeal process. Defendant 2, lawyer Tum, was already serving a prison sentence of over one year from the Criminal Court and thus did not need to post bail.