Celebrity lawyer and wife remanded in custody

Celebrity lawyer Sittra Biabungkerd and his wife Patthitta Biabungkerd have been remanded in custody on fraud and money laundering charges after the Criminal Court denied Ms Patthitta’s bail request. Mr Sittra did not apply for bail.
Ms Patthitta had placed 500,000 baht as surety and said she would agree to wear an electronic monitoring (EM) device.
However, police at the hearing on Friday opposed bail for the couple and sought court approval to detain them pending the questioning of 10 more witnesses.
Under the law, suspects in a criminal case can be detained for a maximum of seven 12-day periods, or 84 days in total, before police must press charges.
Corrections Department officials took Mr Sittra to the Bangkok Remand Prison and his wife was taken to the Central Women’s Correctional Institution.
Saiyud Pengboonchu, the couple’s lawyer, told reporters earlier that he would not submit a bail application for Mr Sittra due to the serious nature of the case, which involves significant damages.
The arrest warrant stated that releasing the suspect could increase the risk of evidence tampering and flight.
Mr Sittra, alias “Lawyer Tam”, had shown no intention to flee, said Mr Saiyud, who denied reports that the couple appeared to be attempting to drive to Cambodia when they were stopped on a highway in Chachoengsao on Thursday. In fact they were on their way to make merit at a temple in the province, according to their lawyer.
Before the arrests, Mr Sittra had prepared a lawsuit and waited at his house for five days for the police to arrest him because he did not want to be arrested while wearing pyjamas like someone else, said Mr Saiyud.
The reference was to Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, another high-profile public figure who was picked up at his home by officers investigating alleged links to online gambling. 
Mr Sittra, 44, and Ms Patthitta, 41, were stopped by Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers while they were travelling in their Porsche Cayenne on a section of the Kabin Buri-Chachoengsao Highway in Phanom Sarakham district of Chachoengsao, heading away from Bangkok, on Thursday morning.
The arrest took place on the same day the Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of the couple.
Mr Sittra was charged with fraud and money laundering offences. His wife was charged with money laundering offences. The couple have denied the charges.
Police seized their Porsche with the licence plate number Thor Kor 999, registered in Bangkok. They found travel bags, bedding and a file of documents inside.
Officers also searched Mr Sittra’s house in Taling Chan district of Bangkok in the afternoon and impounded dozens of items of jewellery and luxury bags for examination.
Mr Saiyud said Mr Sittra showed no signs of worry, but his wife was stressed as she had never thought she would face charges and be sent to a prison.
On Tuesday, Mr Sittra had showed up at the CSD office to request that police question him in a case in which a Thai woman alleged that he tricked her out of 71 million baht for a claimed online lottery project. The lawyer told reporters that the woman had given him the sum as a gift.
The 58-year-old woman, Jatuporn “Madame Oy” Ubonlert, had filed her complaint with police and had been questioned by investigators several times before the arrest warrant was issued.
The native of Nakhon Ratchasima reportedly lives with her French husband in France and won a EuroMillions lottery jackpot worth several billion baht there.
On Friday, Somchart Phinit-aksorn, the lawyer for Ms Jatuporn, arrived at the Criminal Court at 10.30am to submit a request to oppose bail for Mr Sittra and his wife.
Mr Somchart said his client “Madame Oy” appeared indifferent after Mr Sittra was arrested.