BANGKOK, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta was sentenced to one year in jail on Tuesday for offering bribery to officials in last year's sensational wildlife hunting case.
The criminal court convicted Premchai, chairman of Italian Thai Development Co., of offering the undisclosed payback to some officials of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
The bribery attempt was made after he and three alleged accomplices poached at the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in the western province of Kanchanaburi and possessed carcasses of wildlife including a black panther and a pheasant in February last year.
Although the criminal court's verdict was made without suspension of the jail term, Premchai will almost certainly appeal his case in the Appeals Court and will be released on bail.
Earlier this year, the Thong Pha Phum court, located in the western province, sentenced Premchai to 16 months in jail for the possession of the carcasses and war weapons but he was released on bail.
