Sgt Major Sirisak Chanruang, 56, had previously been acquitted by the primary court over the attack by a hired gunman that left referee Sgt Thanom Borikut seriously wounded.
The charge stated that Sirisak and two others hired now-deceased getaway motorcyclist Kosin Srinuankhan and gunman Sukhum Dangkulwanich – now 34 and still at large – for Bt100,000.
Thanom was gunned down in the Sports Authority of Thailand carpark in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi district on September 4, 2013.
Although Sirisak was acquitted on August 26 last year due to insufficient evidence, the Appeals Court yesterday ruled that Kosin, who died in June aged 22, had confessed and implicated Sirisak as the person who hired him and Sukhum. His confession gave details that only someone who was at the scene of the deal would have known, it ruled.
The court also said the prosecutor’s evidence was convincing. This included details of the defendants’ cellphone use and Sirisak’s request for Thanom’s household registration information for a “weapon trade case investigation” prior to the shooting.
Sirisak, who attended the Appeals Court hearing with his family and a group of friends, said he would appeal to the Supreme Court. His daughter broke down in tears and hugged him before he was taken away by the Corrections Department.
Family members said they were preparing a bail application pending the appeal.

Prinya said the Volunteers for Dad centre had cooperated with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)’s Environment Department to set up 11 waste separation points across Sanam Luang since October 19 to reduce 80 per cent of waste left by mourners seeking to pay respects to King Bhumibol.
“We will move to a second measure to reduce the amount of waste, most of which is containers made of foam that are hard to dispose of. Foam containers must be banned before December 5,” he said, adding that private companies would donate a large supply of containers to be used instead of disposable ones.
PTT Plc, PTT MCC Biochem Co Ltd, Gracz Plc and SCG Packaging Co Ltd will help replace more than 1.3 million containers currently at Sanam Luang.
If the number of donated containers was not sufficient, Prinya said the firms would sell additional containers to visitors at a special price.
He said a third measure to try |to stop more waste from being created would be to urge visitors to bring their own utensils and water containers from home, which would be filled with free food and water at service points.
“We will distribute glasses, which have the Thai digit for the number ‘9’ and royal quotes printed on them, to mourners at service points and we will cooperate with food-service points to prepare adequate drinking water for them,” Prinya said.
Suwanna Jungrungrueng, director of the BMA’s Department of Environment, said about 76 tonnes of waste was left near Sanam Luang each day by the large crowd of mourners seeking to pay their respects to the King.
“About 35 per cent of the waste remaining was food scraps, which some visitors asked for to feed to their pigs. That caused the amount [of waste] to decrease. And the foam waste also plunged to 5 per cent, while paper food-wrappers increased 8 per cent after we urged people not to use foam containers,” she said.
Suwanna said the BMA would talk with people staffing food-service points every two weeks to schedule food distribution timings and urge people to use biodegradable containers.

The clearing operation will be carried out by the Command Centre for Monitoring Situations, while the royal crematorium will be built by the Fine Arts Department.
Centre members from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) have said that more people will come to pay respects to the late monarch during the New Year period, so it recommended the clearing be done after that, he said.
The quota for people paying respects in front of the Royal Urn through visits arranged by individual provinces would be maintained at 3,000 a day, Anupong said. He urge people travelling from upcountry on their own to contact the centre for advice on queuing to ensure they can pay their respects without having to find a place to stay overnight.
In the South, many people went to buy commemorative coins issued during the reign of the late King at the Yala Treasury Office, which opened for coin transactions for the second day yesterday.
Yanyong Chairatthong, the acting office head, said they had 3,000 three-coin sets and 4,000 single coins in store, but people were only allowed to purchase one set. The day’s stock sold out in one hour, it was reported.
The three-coin set comprises one coin minted to celebrate His Majesty’s 80th birthday, another to mark the 50th anniversary of the Royal Rainmaking Project, and a third coin to celebrate His Majesty’s Humanitarian Soil Scientist award. The single coin was minted to celebrate His Majesty’s development award for the Chang Hua Mun Royal Initiative Project.
Meanwhile, people in various provinces continued activities dedicated to the late monarch yesterday.
In Phitsanulok, 3,200 teachers and students of Phitsanulok Pittayakom School formed lines in the shape of Thailand with the Thai number 9 in the middle, before prostrating themselves in front of the late monarch’s portrait, partaking in a nine-minute meditation and singing the Royal Anthem.
In Sara Buri province, 2,500 teachers and students of Anubal Saraburi School sang the Royal Anthem and lined up in the shape of Thai number 9 and a lotus flower. In Nong Bua Lamphu, 10,000 people including officials and students formed a Thai number 9 shape and the province name at the Somdet Phra Naresuan field on Monday evening.

In a country whose retirement-age citizens account for 12 per cent of the population and growing, better ways should be found to accommodate older mourners.
How can we permit people in their 80s to queue for hours in front of the Grand Palace, where His Majesty’s remains now rest?
Why, after making what might be long and difficult journeys, must so many elderly Thais give up hope of prostrating before the King’s remains simply because they are not strong enough to wait in line for hours?
Every day and every night, elderly men and women can be seen outside the Palace, their palms pressed together in silent prayer for the monarch. That’s as far as their physical health will allow them to go.
His Majesty’s life mission to help the rural poor began some 40 years ago. Citizens who have now reached retirement age can recall the details of that remarkable mission as it unfolded. Many of them are making the trip by bus or car in the hope of paying their respects to a much-revered monarch. Yet, after hours of travel, they find the gates of the Palace effectively shut to them.
The simple solution would be to provide special lines for the elderly to allow them speedy and convenient access. A daily limit of 500 people could be placed on these lines.
Simply providing wheelchairs and first aid for queuing mourners who need them is not equivalent to facilitating the elderly, who have special and distinct needs. These are accommodated elsewhere at places like District Offices, which have senior-only lanes for those waiting to register for new national identification cards.
Western countries have set the bar here, building elderly and disabled access into the fabric of their public infrastructure.
At the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, wheelchair visitors get priority entrance to minimise queuing time. The British Museum in London offers free admission to special exhibitions for companions of the elderly or disabled. This is on top of ensuring full accessible facilities including toilets and locker rooms.
Considering the huge numbers, it’s understandable that Thai authorities have found it difficult to accommodate all mourners at the Grand Palace. But given that one month has passed since the King’s death, we should expect better.
Authorities say an online reservation system for visits is being developed and should be functioning by December 1. They haven’t said how many people per day will be able to reserve a visit, or what will be done to help those who can’t book a place online.
Also unclear is how long the Palace gates will remain open to mourners, confusion that has exacerbated overcrowding by people rushing to the Palace to pay their respects.
It’s time for the authority concerned, namely the Joint Administration for Security and Order in the Grand Palace Vicinity, to rethink its approach.
The advance-reservation system is a good start, but more must be done to facilitate elderly and disabled mourners.

The vehicle matched the description of a Mazda pickup at the centre of a fatal car-jacking in Songkhla province on Sunday.
Maronee Malae, a 42-year-old assistant village head, and Matrusdil Sohman, 45-year-old village-protection volunteer, noticed the pickup in their hometown yesterday and decided to investigate. But as they approached and were about 50 metres from the vehicle, a bomb hidden nearby exploded, slightly injuring them.
Maronee had bruises around his right hand, face and body. He also suffered tightness in the chest and ringing in his ear. Matrusdil suffered tightness in the chest and ringing in his ear.
Police believe the explosion was staged to fan unrest in the deep South, which has seen bloody incidents almost every day over more than a decade.
Explosive ordinance disposal officials put off checking on the pickup until today, as they suspect the vehicle may be laden with bombs, so those who work on it must be extra careful.

Atchariya Rueangratanapong, head of the Help Crime Victim Club, yesterday submitted a petition calling on the DSI to proceed with punishment under the Criminal Code against those who had allegedly received ill-gotten gains and to investigate whether more people were involved. But he expressed doubts over the DSI’s apparent hesitation in taking disciplinary action against the pair over incidents that occurred years before but had only recently come to light.
DSI special case division head Pol Major Woranan Srilam said a disciplinary investigation would be launched after the unnamed officials were informed of the charges and suspended. The pair were accused of receiving between Bt20 million and Bt40 million, paid indirectly to their bank accounts, from the sale of the KCUC’s land to Phitsanulok Ethanol Co.

“We had planned to start the distribution in the afternoon,” Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat said yesterday.
However, by 10am, the line had reached Pinklao Bridge, several kilometres away from the National Museum.
The books are “King Bhumibol Adulyadej”, a retrospection on the late monarch’s life and royal works, and “99 Royal Teachings”, an anthology of his teachings.
After His Majesty passed away at the age of 89 on October 13, memorabilia about him has been much sought after. When the Culture Ministry revealed the plan to hand out the free copies, people turned out in huge numbers to make sure they got a copy.
The ministry gave away 40,000 copies yesterday and will continue at that rate every day till its stock of 200,000 copies is gone.
The delivery times are 9am, noon, 3pm and 5pm each day.
The “99 Royal Teachings” was published as a pocketbook so that readers can carry it everywhere, making them feel like the much-loved monarch is always with them.
“We have prepared easy-to-understand contents…It makes clear why Thais love the late King so much,” he said.

Lessons for children
The two books also include well-printed royal portraits, including rare images.
The project was in response to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s instruction to immortalise His Majesty.
“I hope the two valuable books will benefit all the owners in that they can follow the late King’s teachings,” said Saimai Jobkolsuek, a member of the advisory staff for language, document and literature from the Royal Household Bureau.
Vira said his ministry plans more printings for free distribution if sponsors come forward.
The Government Saving Bank, for example, has already donated Bt5 million.
“We expect to publish up to 1 million copies for each book,” he said.
Saimai said all the King’s speeches were valuable with a great philosophy.
“They are very practical too,” he said.
Recipients of the commemorative books were overjoyed. “I will put the books on my altar at home. The royal teachings will guide my life,” said Natruja Sapchaloem, 49.
“I want to keep everything about the late King as much as I can because I really miss him.”
Jintana Pinjorn, 51, said she would read the books aloud to her children. “That way, they will know fully why I love the King so much.”
Orrawan Miangmook, 76, said she intended to preach the royal wisdom to her children.
A 57-year-old housewife from Bangkok, Waraporn Piangpairoon, said the books provided by the Culture Ministry were especially precious because they were something “money could not buy”.