Thai court upholds publisher jail term

Thai court upholds publisher jail term

BANGKOK (AP): Thailand's Supreme Court has upheld a verdict
sentencing the publisher of Thai Playboy men's magazine to six
years in jail for organizing wife-swapping parties at his clubs
in Bangkok.

The ruling follows a five-year legal battle between Chuchart
Thanamongkolchai, 60, a controversial advocate of sexual freedom,
and Thai state prosecutors, who accused him of profiting from
activities that corrupted public morals.

Chuchart had set up three "swingers" groups in 1995 where
freewheeling Thais were allegedly encouraged to swap sex partners
at his two clubs in Bangkok.

He denied any wrongdoing, often writing in Thai Playboy
magazine that the partner-swapping helped people have more
fulfilling sex lives.