Thailand's Criminal Court today found the three remaining Election Commissioners guilty of violating elections laws and sentenced them each to four years in prison.

The sentences have not been suspended.

To protect their Thai Rak Thai paymaster and their "good names" (what a joke), these three have been holding the country hostage for months.

I can't think of more selfish and corrupt b*st*rds who deserve it more than these three.

Well, then again there's Thaksin and some of his ministers.

It's great to see the courts doing the right thing.

Finally.

Fantastic news a great step forward for Thailand. Thanks for the update Robert I couldnt find it on the news websites.

lets just hope and pray Thaksin isn't returned as PM once again !!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5212370.stm

some more details on the case ....hope u don't mind Loburt !!

bangkokpost.com

Well, that's what i wanna hear... but many ppl said those guys won't be in the jail.. might have a dark power to help them out (actually TRT is trying to do it) ...

I wanna see they're in the jail.. i think it's the lesson that they should learn

they got money...

3 guys being locked up over corruption charges in south-east asia.Strewth whats this world coming to.

In reading the report, I'm troubled by the part where the court says the Democrat MP actually had not authority to bring the charges.

First, why not?

Secondly, if he had no right to bring the charges, then that opens the possibility that the Appeals Court might over rule the Criminal Court and throw the whole thing out.

If they do, I sure hope it happens after October 15 (the date of the next election).

Long live the king!

What I liked in the video footage was Wassana and his compadres arriving in Bangkok Jail... Wassana looking all business with his suit .... checked his watched while entering jail. ... I don't think he needs to go anywhere else tonight.... :-). I hope he will get comfortable... hopefully for the full 4 years. They cost the country 2.3 (or 2.5 have to check) million baht plus damages to the economy. 4 year in jail for that is rather light.... Small thiefs get longer sentences..

But it's great that things are moving a bit closer to democracy :-D. Now it's up to Thaksin to say he supports the decision and that is a good thing. Move on fast, or do something drastic... so rural people forget he supported them and they supported him. It's gonna be an interesting rest of the week...

About damn time....that's was a long time coming!

..:: They are now in jail sleep like babies next to First Aids office, in case stresses cause them heart attack.(ha).. and will be there until court appoint new Election committees to guarantee that they will not back to be committees again and they will be released but under probation after.

I don't know squat about the politics there, but I just hope that these guys are not somehow acting as fall guys to take pressure off of TRT -- so they can say, "See, it was them. We had nothing to do with it directly." Anyway, thanks for the post!

Mike, they are fall guys for the TRT. I suspect, however, they will eventually be well rewarded for their sacrifice.

Chris how would you like to see the real jail they will spend their time in. I bet we never get the opportunity to. I reckon 1-2 years then house confinement.

Robert the same thing occurred to me, these guys will be rewarded no end, but it will come out of Toxins pocket not the Thai people for a change.

The only chance for real justice is if the TRT disappears and the Democrats are in and make sure they serve their time properly.

I reckon that they won't spend the full 4 years either. Will depend on how much TRT will spend on their defence and who will be bought during the appeals process. At least good that a new EC can be selected. The court who submits the 10 nominees should do extensive screening of the candidates so no stooges slip in.

One option is to make vote buying and vote taking a bigger offense. Not only to the party but also to the people accepting money for their vote. 500,000 baht per incident, 3 years of jail effective, suspension for 5 years of voting rights along with real prosecution of the bribed.... should set some good examples and hopefully be a real deterrent.

The problem wil still be however.... enforcement... as there is no clear seperation here between politics and police. As I read somewhere.. Can Thailand be considered a 'police state'...

If the police decides not to look into any bribe cases then it's about as useless as elephant dung....

Dang... elephant IS usable ... especially in the CM region... so they'll come up with something. Lol.

Yet, it's still not at all over yet. Waiting how Thaksin is gonna twist this situation his way... We will need to wait until his saturday radioshow to hear the latest lies, .. or let's just call it 'spin'.

Goodnight people. Let's "pray" for these "innocent guys" in bangkok hilton now. Hope they (don't) meet some opponents. I don't think they were allowed to bring bribe money into jail. :-)

Don't mind the typos. It's getting late..... *yawns*

Yes, democracy. Let's go and die for it. It sounds like a great idea.

Coakroach sandwiches then...Nah too much hidden cash...

Was at the office when the news broke. There was a flicker of light in our eyes before it died down when we heard that Thaksin said the new EC shall be selected the soonest possible to handle the election. So these guys have a hight possibility to be Thaksin's people again....Well, I hope there's a light that shines on this land soon. o_O

gosh, corrupt people getting jailed in thailand. whats next??? oh look, there goes a flock of pigs flying south for winter