A policewoman from a Bangkok station was sentenced on Thursday to 125 years in prison for embezzling suspects’ bail funds totaling 720,000 baht.
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases found Pol Capt Jirat-on Paksap guilty on 25 counts of embezzlement, each carrying a five-year jail term.
Prosecutors reported that Pol Capt Jirat-on, a deputy administrative inspector at the Wang Thong Lang station, was in charge of collecting suspects’ bail from police investigators and depositing the money.
The court learned that she failed to deposit 720,000 baht in funds. She admitted in court to not following the relevant regulations but claimed she had no malicious intent.
Ministry of Finance regulations required her to deposit bail funds and present deposit slips to her station chief daily. Witnesses testified that Pol Capt Jirat-on had kept about 200,000 baht in cash in a steel cabinet in her office for an extended period. An internal audit and the State Audit Office later found a shortfall in bail funds, leading her to return 450,000 baht. The court deemed this behavior as embezzlement and ordered her to return the remaining 270,000 baht.
Due to her cooperation with the investigation, the court reduced her prison sentence by one-third, resulting in an 83-year term. However, by law, jail terms are capped at 50 years.
