A 36-year-old member of a famous Australian-Thai showbusiness family was sentenced last week to seven-and-a-half-years' jail for molesting boys, the harshest penalty given for the offence in Thailand, The Age newspaper reported last Friday.

The Central Criminal Court sentenced Chalermchai Poopart to 10 years for two charges of molesting minors and illegally detaining them. This was reduced to seven-and-a-half-years' years, because he co-operated with police, an official revealed on condition of anonymity.

Prosecutors alleged that Chalermchai is a long-time paedophile.

Chalermchai, 36, had received a lenient sentence in a prior molestation case a month ago. He was sentenced on August 16 to a suspended jail term of two years and eight months and 40 hours of public service, which led to a public outcry about leniency and accusations that the courts were influenced by his family's fame.

The former actor and model, also known as Dominic, was arrested in June 2000 for allegedly forcing two boys to perform oral sex on him.

Chalermchai's brothers, Michael and Oliver are models, TV actors and pop singers. The brothers, whose father is Australian and mother Thai, are known for their good looks. The brothers are Thai citizens although it is not clear if they also have Australian citizenship.