The 7th Region Appeals Court has upheld the acquittal, by the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court, of Pol Lt Charoon Wimon over the 30-million baht first-prize lottery saga, on the grounds that the prosecutor in this case, Preecha Kraikruan, is not the damaged party as legally defined.
The lottery controversy, which has dragged on for years, is pitting Charoon, a retired police officer, against schoolteacher Preecha. Both men claimed ownership of the five first-prize winning lottery tickets. Charoon had already cashed in the tickets, at the Government Lottery Office, and deposited most of the money in his bank account. Later, however, Preecha claimed he owned the tickets, but had carelessly dropped them somewhere and that they were found by Charoon.
In this latest court case, Preecha sued Charoon, claiming that the latter stole the lottery tickets from him.
The Kanchanaburi Provincial Court acquitted Charoon of the misappropriation charges, on the grounds that Preecha is not the damaged party.
The two litigants arrived at the Kanchanaburi Province Court this morning to hear the Appeal Court’s verdict.
