Kanchanaburi, Thailand – A Thai tycoon accused of poaching a black leopard at a wildlife sanctuary arrived in court Tuesday for the highly anticipated verdict…
Kanchanaburi, Thailand – A Thai tycoon accused of poaching a black leopard at a wildlife sanctuary arrived in court Tuesday for the highly anticipated verdict – a case that has fuelled outrage in a country fed up with impunity and corruption.
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 2018.
He was detained with three others 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.
The high-profile ruling is expected less than a week before a general election on March 24, the first polls since the junta seized power in 2014 vowing to expunge graft and uphold the rule of law.
