Former TV host Akanat "Nott" Ariyaritwikul and a friend were handed suspended jail terms of one year each yesterday for assaulting a motorcyclist in a high-profile case of road rage late last year.
The Bangkok South Criminal Court initially sentenced both Akanat and Witawat Sribanditmongkol to two years each. Their jail terms were commuted and suspended because they had confessed.
Both men were ordered to perform 24 hours of community service and report to the Probation Department every three months for one year.
Akanat's Mini Cooper was sideswiped by a motorcycle ridden by Kittisak Singto, after he was knocked off balance by another vehicle, on Nov 4 last year. The TV host and his friend were charged with then colluding to injure the biker, who suffered a badly broken nose.
Public outrage grew when a video clip went viral showing Akanat, who was 28 at the time, ordering the injured Mr Kittisak to prostrate himself before the Mini Cooper by way of apology. Akanat's employers, GMMTV and ThaiPBS, ended their contracts with him.
Earlier, Akanat and Witawat agreed during arbitration to pay 180,000 baht in compensation to Mr Kittisak, ending their dispute in the civil court last month.
After being ordered to do community service, Akanat said he wanted teach young people about anger management and how to live a conscientious life.
He said since the incident he has advised people to remain calm if they have a similar experience.
