BANGKOK

The parents of a disgraced former Thai Royal princess have been accused of lèse-majesté after a woman claimed they had her imprisoned after the mother began to suspect she was having an affair with the then princess' father.

Apiruj Suwadee, 72, and Wantanee Suwadee, 66, are liable to a jail term of up to 15 years if courts conclude that they are indeed guilty, Thai newspapers reported Friday.

They are accused of using their daughter's royal status to force the police to file false charges of fraud against Sawita Maneechan.

According to the allegations, Wantanee - the mother of the ex-princess - accused Maneechan of having an affair with her husband in 2003, which Maneechan promptly denied.

Unperturbed, Wantanee is accused of having used the royal status to have Maneechan sentenced to 24 months in jail, which was reduced to 18 months because she confessed to the fraud charge.

“The charge was utterly false, but I was forced to make a confession because I was afraid of the influence of the Suwadee family,” Maneechan - now 31 years old - told Khaosod online on Friday.

“My family had to move out of Ratchaburi province, and [on being released] I couldn’t find a job because of my prison record. I would like to ask for fairness from the police. I want them to investigate the facts and dissolve my criminal record.”

On Thursday, investigating officer Police General Thitirat Nongharnpitak, said that the allegation would be investigated thoroughly.

“We will give fairness to all sides. We will summon every person related to the issue for interrogation. If police believe there is truth to the allegation, we will punish the wrongdoers,” he said.

The case highlights the nepotistic world of Thai high society, where simple relation to a dignitary, politician, or member of the royal family can carry great influence.

Former Princess Srirasmi, now Thanpuying Srirasmi Suwadee, has had a spectacular fall from grace after several of her brothers, sisters and her uncle, police general Pongpat Chayapan, were accused in November of massive corruption.

Crown prince Vajiralongkorn, who married Srirasmi - his third wife - in 2001, withdrew the royal name bestowed on her and some of her relatives at the end of November.

Srirasmi resigned from the royal family a few days later and has been living since with her parents in their compound in Rachaburi province in central Thailand. She has received 200 million baht ($6 six million) from the Crown property bureau after relinquishing her royal titles.

The fate of prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, the child she had with the crown prince in 2005 is unclear, but he is understood not to live with his mother.

The country's stringent lèse-majesté law, which can lead to imprisonment of between three and 15 years are interpreted widely by courts and prohibit public discussion of the royal family.

The extent of the censorship is such that Thai newspapers who published news of the arrest of General Pongpat Chayapan in November had to wait for several days before mentioning his family connection with then Princess Srirasmi. They only did it after it was extensively reported in international media. 

Since the ruling Thai junta overthrew the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in a May 22 coup the number of cases of people detained for lèse-majesté - either awaiting trial or already sentenced - has jumped.

The exact number of detainees has not been made public by Thai authorities.

Release on bail is systemically denied for those charged and all lèse-majesté trials since the coup have been held on camera in front of a military court.