A former police officer who was caught with a small arsenal of M79 grenades at an April 2010 protest has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Parinya Maneekhot, who then held the rank of Pol Sgt-Maj, was caught with the grenades at a police checkpoint while en route to a protest being staged by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). The incident began when police asked to search several bags Parinya was carrying on his moped. Parinya refused and fled the scene, managing to drop one of his bags in the process, which, it turned out, contained 62 M79 grenades and his police ID.
In the ensuing court case, Parinya contended that he had been ordered by his superiors to infiltrate the UDD protest, though the court rejected this contention.
The Bangkok Post reports that Parinya was convicted of possessing war weapons with the intent to sell and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
