Pradit backs bribery claim

[ausgeo@xxxxxxx]

30 May 1997 
The Nation 

Pradit backs bribery claim 

A TOP judge yesterday said he believed bribes had been paid to certain people 
to obtain the release on bail of alleged drug trafficker Li Yun-chung. 

''From what I know, Li Yun-chung made payoffs, but I do not know in whose 
hands the money ended up," Criminal Court Chief Justice Pradit Ekmanee said. 

Li is wanted by US authorities on a charge of heroin smuggling. He was granted 
bail by Judge Somchai Udomwong during extradition proceedings and subsequently 
fled to Burma. 

Burmese authorities handed him back during Prime Minister Chavalit 
Yongchaiyudh's visit to Rangoon earlier this month. 

Pradit denied reports that people with links to Judge Somchai, his deputy, had 
approached him seeking leniency if Somchai was found to have acted wrongly in 
granting bail. 

''No one has come to me to secure a reduced sentence for Somchai, if he should 
be found guilty of an offence," Pradit said. 

Li initially confessed to making payoffs on his return to Thailand, but later 
recanted.