Court Clears Red-Shirt Leader in Extortion Case, Jails Associate
A Bangkok court cleared former red‑shirt leader Jeng Dok Chik of extortion charges due to lack of evidence, while his associate Ek Paknam was convicted and jailed for one year and four months. Ek Paknam was ordered to repay 700,000 baht plus interest to the victim, former aide Seksan Atthawong. The ruling was announced on October 5, 2026.
The case was prosecuted by the Criminal Division 10 prosecutors, who accused Yotsarit Chuglohm (known as Jeng Dok Chik) and Ekalak Wareechon (known as Ek Paknam) of joint extortion. According to the prosecution, between April 5 and April 7, 2022, the two defendants threatened to extort 800,000 baht from Seksan Atthawong, also known as Ram Bo Isan, a former aide to the Prime Minister's Office and a red‑shirt leader, to help him win Bangkok municipal contracts. They allegedly warned that if he refused, they would file complaints with the anti‑corruption agency, other officials, and the media to damage his reputation. Both defendants denied the charges. Yotsarit was brought from prison to hear the judgment, while Ekalak had been released on bail earlier. The court found that Yotsarit and Seksan were close friends from their involvement in red‑shirt protests, and the prosecution's witnesses contained many doubtful points, so the benefit of the doubt was given to Yotsarit, resulting in his acquittal. For Ekalak, several prosecution witnesses testified that he demanded money, threatening to file complaints unless paid, and said the amount was later reduced from 800,000 to 700,000 baht. These witnesses were judged credible. The court sentenced Ekalak to two years imprisonment, reduced by one third because his testimony assisted the case, yielding a final term of one year and four months, and ordered him to repay 700,000 baht with interest at five percent per year to the joint plaintiff. Yotsarit was acquitted. The reporting journalist noted that Yotsarit had previously been sentenced by the Supreme Court to five years and four months for assaulting soldiers during the 2010 political protests, and by the Central Corruption Court to six years for extorting 1.5 million baht together with Sri‑suvan Charanya from Natthakit Thip, director‑general of the Rice Department.
