Narong Suwadee was arrested 30 November 2014 and accused of lese majeste and a range of other crimes. He was convicted on 20 March 2015 and sentenced to 11 years in jail, reduced by half for a guilty plea to the military court.
Narong was a part of the roundup of accomplices of the former Central Investigation Bureau chief Pongpat Chayapan. Pongpat is the uncle of former Princess Srirasmi who was stripped of her royal title and thrown out of the royal family at the same time that Pongpat’s alleged criminal network was exposed.
Narong was arrested with four others for lese majeste, extortion and kidnapping and claiming royal connections to collect debts by force. This relates to the case of Chakarn Phakphoom. Narong was an official of the Royal Household Bureau, working for the prince’s bodyguard unit.
The suspects are alleged to have claimed that they had done the debt collection job on behalf of “a person in a highly placed institution.” They probably did but now are slapped with the lese majeste charge.
While in jail in March 2015, the military on 13 March, claimed to have found gold belonging to Narong. The amount was actually a rather small, valued at 2 million baht, but suggests how the family is being squeezed broke.
Media accounts of Narong’s case:
Khaosod, 20 March 2015: “Brothers of Ex-Princess Imprisoned for Defaming Royal Family”
Khaosod, 13 March 2015: “Soldiers Seize Gold Cache From Ex-Princess’s Brother”
The Nation, 1 December 2014: “Two civilians arrested in CIB chief graft case“
Political Prisoners in Thailand 