Cambodian Court to consider bail request for five Thais on Tuesday

BANGKOK, Jan 17 (MCOT online news) – Cambodia’s Appeals Court is scheduled to consider bail requests Tuesday for five Thais charged with trespassing into Cambodian territory, Thani Thongpakdi, director-general of the foreign ministry's information department said.

Lawyers representing the Thai defendants submitted bail requests on Jan 14 and Mr Thani said it is likely to be clear within this week when the Cambodian court will schedule to hand down its verdict.

There has been no progress reported so far since the court heard the case of Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who are charged with gathering information that could pose a threat to Cambodian security, the director-general said.

The Cambodian court on Friday rejected bail bids for five Thais detained in Phnom Penh after granting bail for Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth and Naruemol Chitwaratana of the People’s Network Against Corruption and Santi Asoke networks on Thursday.

They are staying at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh as the court barred them from leaving Cambodia.

The seven were arrested Dec 29 by the Cambodian authorities for illegal entry into Banteay Meanchey province.

The detainees face two initial charges -- illegal entry into the Cambodian kingdom, with possible punishment of three to six months jail and deportation, and also trespass on a Cambodian military zone, punishable by three to six months jail and Bt7,500-15,000 in fines, while the spying charges could result in five to 10 year imprisonment.