A court in Thailand has sentenced two owners of a restaurant to 1,446 years in prison each for defrauding the public.<\/p>\n
Last year, Laemgate seafood restaurant launched a pay-in-advance food promotion online.<\/p>\n
Up to 20,000 people purchased 50 million Thai baht (\u00a31.2m; $1.6m) worth of vouchers, said broadcaster Thai PBS.<\/p>\n
But the company later said it could not keep up with demand and shut down the restaurant.<\/p>\n
Apichart Bowornbancharak and Prapassorn Bowornbancha were arrested after hundreds of people complained.<\/p>\n
It is not uncommon for those found guilty of fraud in Thailand to be sentenced to such long terms, owing to the number of complaints received.<\/p>\n
However, Thai law limits jail time for public fraud to 20 years.<\/p>\n
The Laemgate seafood restaurant had last year begun selling various food vouchers that required customers to pay in advance.<\/p>\n
One such deal offered a seafood meal at 880 baht (\u00a322; $28) for 10 people – far cheaper than their usual prices.<\/p>\n
Initially, those who bought the vouchers were able to claim their meals at the restaurant but a long waiting list meant an advance booking of up to several months,\u00a0according to Thai PBS<\/a>.<\/p>\n But by March, the company – Laemgate Infinite – announced its closure, claiming that it could not get hold of enough seafood to meet the demand.<\/p>\n It offered to refund customers who had bought vouchers, according to Thai PBS. About 375 out of 818 customers who complained got their money back.<\/p>\n Hundreds later filed complaints against the company and its co-owners for fraud.<\/p>\n Apichart Bowornbancharak and Prapassorn Bowornbancha were arrested on charges including defrauding the public through false messages.<\/p>\n They were found guilty on 723 counts on Wednesday and sentenced to 1,446 years in jail each.<\/p>\n They pleaded guilty and their sentences were cut by half to 723 years each. They will in fact only be serving a maximum of 20 years.<\/p>\n Their company, Laemgate Infinite, was also fined 1.8m baht, and the co-owners and the company was ordered to refund 2.5m baht in damages to the victims.<\/p>\n In 2017, a Thai court sentenced a fraudster to more than 13,000 years in prison.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"