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.