Thai construction magnate Premchai Karnasuta sentenced to 16 months in prison over black leopard poaching case

Premchai was detained in February last year after forest rangers stumbled upon his hunting camp within a wildlife sanctuary

Despite being sentenced to 16 months in jail for three poaching-related charges, he was immediately released on bail pending an appeal

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Premchai Karnasuta leaves court after being convicted of poaching-related offences. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:36pm, 19 Mar 2019Updated: 10:04pm, 19 Mar 2019

A Thai tycoon accused of killing a black leopard was sentenced to 16 months in jail on other poaching-related charges on Tuesday but allowed to go free pending an appeal, in a case that has caused an outcry in a country fed up with impunity for powerful figures.

Construction magnate Premchai Karnasuta, whose company is behind major infrastructure projects such as Bangkok’s monorail and its airport, was arrested by rangers in a national park in February last year.

Forest rangers arresting Premchai and his associates in February last year. Photo: AFP

He and three others were detained after rangers stumbled upon their campsite and found guns and animal carcasses, including a Kalij pheasant, a red muntjac – or barking deer – and the pelt of a black leopard, also known as a black panther.

While Premchai was found not guilty of possessing a leopard carcass, he was convicted of three other poaching-related charges.

Officials inspect the skin of a black leopard seized during Premchai’s arrest. Photo: AFP