Justice Minister Explains Criteria for Suspension of Punishment for Boonsong and Over a Thousand Others.

Bangkok: The Minister of Justice has clarified the suspension of punishment for Mr. Boonsong Teriyapirom, a former Minister of Commerce involved in the rice pledging case, and explained the criteria under which over a thousand prisoners will have their sentences suspended. Pol. Col. Thawee Sodsong, the Minister of Justice, stated that Boonsong was temporarily released from the Corrections Hospital as part of the Corrections Department's administration, a decision not directly reported to the Minister. According to Thai News Agency, Pol. Col. Thawee received information from the Director-General of the Corrections Department, which revealed that Mr. Boonsong had been sentenced to over 40 years in prison but, after receiving four royal pardons, had only 10 years remaining. Having already served more than 7 years, he met the criteria for a general suspended sentence. The decision to suspend sentences lies with a subcommittee comprising doctors, judges, police, permanent secretaries, and deputy permanent secreta ries from the Ministry of Justice. Despite the suspension, Mr. Boonsong, owing to his age, remains subject to legal obligations. Pol. Col. Thawee further explained that prisoners under 70 years old must wear an electronic monitoring (EM) bracelet as part of the Department of Corrections' punishment management. This requirement is not subject to reporting. Each time a sentence is suspended, over 1,000 prisoners are granted this reprieve. The conditions for a suspended sentence include having a guardian and being under the Probation Department's care, following international standards. The location where the prisoner serves the suspended sentence depends on the case specifics. Although prisoners can request a royal pardon during the suspended sentence, it remains a personal matter and is not governed by the Corrections Department laws. There was a recent incident where Mr. Boonsong was seen attending a funeral, which Pol. Col. Thawee addressed by stating that convicted prisoners are allowed to take leave to a ttend the funeral of a parent.