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Chairman of poll agency defends handling of media shares case

The Election Commission (EC) can forward the case involving Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s previous iTV shareholdings to the Constitutional Court without having to wait for him to furnish his defence, EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said.

He said a meeting of election commissioners on Wednesday looked at a letter sent by Mr Pita asking the poll agency to follow its regulations regarding its investigation process.

Mr Ittiporn said the meeting concluded that the poll agency had complied with related laws and regulations.

The EC’s inquiry panel handled the case in line with Section 82 of the constitution, which allows the poll agency to forward the case to the court if the agency finds sufficient grounds to disqualify an MP, Mr Ittiporn said.

In Mr Pita’s case, the inquiry panel did not investigate any violation of the election law or political parties law, which requires the EC to bring formal charges against suspects first, Mr Ittiporn said.

He said the EC’s main committee had received the inquiry panel findings and will consider them in detail today. The EC will inform Mr Pita in writing of the outcome of its meeting shortly, the EC chairman said.

On Monday, Mr Pita sent a letter to the EC to protest any decision by the poll agency to forward the case to the Constitutional Court.

In it, Mr Pita said the EC’s inquiry panel had not yet informed him of the facts, information and legal grounds for its investigation, citing the EC’s regulations on its investigation process.

He called on the inquiry panel to send him the information so he can prepare and submit his defence to the agency.

Mr Pita, who is the MFP’s sole prime ministerial candidate, stands accused of being ineligible to contest the election because he held 42,000 shares in iTV, which is believed by some critics to still be a functioning media company when he registered his candidacy for the May 14 election.

Mr Pita denies the allegation, saying he only served as executor of the family’s inherited shares.

The constitution bars individuals with media shareholdings from running for public office.

Former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn previously said if the court accepts the case for consideration, it can order Mr Pita’s suspension as an MP, which could affect voting for a new prime minister tomorrow.

A court’s consideration of the case or a suspension order could be cited by senators as a reason to abstain from voting for Mr Pita as they might feel the vote could be problematic due to Mr Pita’s alleged ineligibility, he said.

Writing on Facebook yesterday, Senator Wanlop Tankhananurak dismissed as untrue a claim that at least 20 senators would back Mr Pita’s bid for prime minister in tomorrow’s vote.

He referred to a graphic featuring the pictures of 20 senators appearing on social media, which claimed that the pictured senators would vote for Mr Pita. Mr Wallop wrote that only 10 admitted they would support Mr Pita.

In a video posted on Facebook yesterday, Mr Pita sent a message to MPs and senators, saying Thailand should be allowed a democratic majority government in accordance with the people’s will when they vote for a new prime minister tomorrow.

He said the vote would not just be a vote for him or the MFP but a chance to confirm that Thailand will move forward along a normal democratic path.

Resigns as member of the UTN Party

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday announced his decision to leave politics after nine years in power as he resigned as a member of the United Thai Nation Party (UTN).

His resignation was announced on the UTN’s official Facebook page along with a statement signed by the caretaker prime minister, who served also as the chief strategist of the UTN prior to this formal resignation.

The resignation was announced only two days before the parliamentary vote set for tomorrow to select Thailand’s next prime minister.

Gen Prayut led the May 22, 2014, military coup that toppled the Yingluck Shinawatra administration following political unrest sparked by growing protests against the government’s push to pass a blanket amnesty bill.

Gen Prayut was afterwards appointed leader of a militaryinstalled government. He returned as prime minister again after the 2019 general election.

In his statement, intended mainly for the UTN’s executives, party members and all supporters of the party, Gen Prayut expressed his gratitude for support from all of them in building the UTN and casting their votes for the newly established party.

The party won 23 House seats and 4.76 million votes in the May 14 election, accounting for 12.52% of the 38.05 million turnout and earned the UTN 13 list-MPs, which brought the total House seats the party obtained to 36, said Gen Prayut.

He said he decided to join the UTN because he wanted to build a new party with a strong political ideology and love and loyalty for the country’s core pillars — the nation, religions and monarchy.

He described his time as prime minister as “a memorable experience”.

“Over the past nine years, I, as prime minister, have dedicated my time and energy to the duty of protecting the nation, religions and monarchy while working in the best interests of my beloved people,” wrote Gen Prayut in the same statement.

He also outlined the work achievements of his administration, which included maintaining national peace as a means of ensuring the country’s political, social and economic stability.

UTN leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, meanwhile, said Gen Prayut decided to resign as a member of the UTN because he wants to end speculation that the UTN was secretly negotiating a deal to form a new coalition and make him return as prime minister again.

Party says poll body may have broken law by not inviting leader to defend himself

The Move Forward Party (MFP) on Wednesday accused the Election Commission of “abuse of power” after it recommended that leader Pita Limjaroenrat be suspended as an MP while the Constitutional Court rules on his status.

“The decision to submit a case to the court saying there was enough evidence, without informing him of any charges and not allowing him a chance to explain as under the regulations set by the EC … is an abuse of power under the Criminal Code,” the party said in a statement.

The EC has asked the court to rule on whether Mr Pita broke the law by holding shares in a media company when he applied to run as an MP. Even if he is suspended as an MP, he would still be able to stand as a prime ministerial candidate when parliament meets on Thursday.

EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said earlier that the constitution allowed the EC to seek a fast-tracked Constitutional Court ruling if it had doubts about the status of any MP. It would then be up to the court to decide whether it wanted to hear the MP’s defence.

However, MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said the EC’s own regulations required it to listen to an MP’s defence before reaching a resolution on the termination of the MP status.

“Regarding the EC’s intention to send the matter to the Constitutional Court and have Mr Pita suspended before the prime ministerial vote (in parliament on Thursday), is this ‘lawfare’ and the tool of any particular political group?” Mr Chaithawat asked rhetorically.

“I’d like to tell the EC and independent organisations not to abuse power. When politics returns to normal, people will punish you.”

Mr Chaithawat said the EC’s handling of the Pita case raised questions about the dereliction of duty by the poll body under Section 157 of the Criminal Code.

He also commented that the EC seemed to handle the issue of Mr Pita unusually quickly in the lead-up to the parliamentary vote.

He confirmed that MFP and its seven coalition allies would proceed with their efforts to form the next government regardless of any developments from the EC and the Constitutional Court.

Progressive Movement leader Piyabutr Saengkanokkul said the EC’s speedy recommendation was a sign that a “legal war” is being waged against Mr Pita.

He said it took the EC only 32 days from when it first received the complaint to make its decision. When the qualifications of Don Pramudwinai, the current caretaker foreign minister, were questioned because of a shareholding by his wife in 2018, it took 355 days before the EC made up its mind. Mr Don was eventually cleared.

Mr Piyabutr, a law professor and co-founder of the Future Forward Party, the predecessor of the MFP, also noted that when the EC investigated Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, it took 75 days to reach a conclusion.

Three Germans deny killing and dismembering wealthy Pattaya property broker

PATTAYA: Three German nationals arrested for the murder of a 62-year-old German businessman whose dismembered body was found in a freezer at a rented house have denied all charges.

The fourth suspect, a Pakistani with Thai nationality, was arrested in Kanchanaburi on Wednesday afternoon while trying to flee across the border to Myanmar, said police.

Shahrukh Karim Uddin, 27, was questioned at the Muang district police station in Kanchanaburi before being taken to Pattaya.

Pol Col Tawee Kudthalaeng, the Nong Prue police chief, said the three suspects were Ms Petra Christl Grundgreif, 54; Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann, 52; and Ms Nicole Frevel, 52. All were German citizens and all denied any involvement.

Ms Frevel, a disabled woman, rented the house where the body of Hans Peter Mack was found in a freezer on Monday. He had been missing since July 4.

Police investigators on Wednesday continued questioning Mr Brinkmann, the alleged leader. All three would then be taken to Pattaya Provincial Court, where police would apply to detain them for another 12 days while the investigation continued.

Shahrukh Karim Uddin, 27, a Pakistani with Thai nationality, was arrested in Kanchanaburi on Wednesday afternoon while trying to flee across the border to Myanmar. (Photo: Piyarach Chongcharoen)

Pol Col Tawee said Ms Grundgreif suffered chest pains while being held in a police station cell. She was treated by medics from the Sawang Boriroonthamsathan rescue foundation.

Ms Frevel was also treated, for a knife wound. She had slit her wrist.

Ms Grundgreif, Mr Brinkmann and Mr Uddin are suspected of using an electric saw to cut Mack’s body into 13 parts, which were put into three plastic bags. The bags were put in the freezer.

Surveillance camera footage showed Mack had met Ms Grundgreif in a café in Nong Prue, Bang Lamung district, on July 4. They later drove to a pool villa in Soi Chaiyaphreuk 1, where Mack was believed to have been murdered.

Investigators believe the other suspects were waiting for Mack at the villa and forced him to transfer money into their bank accounts before killing him and cutting up his body.

According to Mack’s 24-year-old Thai wife, he left their house in Swiss Paradise housing estate in Pattaya on July 4 to meet a foreign property broker. That was the last time she saw him.

Five days later, Mack’s silver Mercedes-Benz E350 coupe was found in the CC Condominium parking lot on Khao Noi Road in tambon Nong Prue. Inside the car police found stains of a chemical cleanser, apparently used in an attempt to destroy evidence.

On eve of PM vote, charter court accepts media shares case and complaint about party’s S112 policy

The legal troubles of Pita Limjaroenrat and the Move Forward Party (MFP) grew on Wednesday as the Constitutional Court accepted two cases on the eve of a vote on Mr Pita’s premiership bid in Parliament.

Hours after the Election Commission forwarded its recommendation that Mr Pita be removed as an MP for media shareholding, the court separately accepted another complaint accusing the MFP of “attempting to overthrow the democratic system with His Majesty the King as the Head of State”.

The second complaint, filed by activist lawyer Theerayut Suwannakaysorn, is based on the party’s declared aim to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law. A ruling against the party could ultimately lead to its dissolution.

The Office of the Constitutional Court said the complaint from the EC arrived at 3.15pm on Wednesday. The poll body recommended that Mr Pita be stripped of his MP status because of his past shareholding in the inactive broadcaster iTV Plc. The constitution prohibits a shareholder of a media organisation from running in a general election.

The court acknowledged receipt of the case but did not indicate when it would start deliberating. Even if Mr Pita is suspended as an MP, he would still be able to stand as a prime ministerial candidate when parliament meets on Thursday.

Shortly afterward, the Office announced that the court had accepted the complaint from Mr Theerayut, who said Move Forward’s plan to amend Section 112 was tantamount to exercising rights and liberty to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, in violation of Section 49 of the constitution. The Constitutional Court can order such activities to stop.

Normally the charter court does not accept petitions from individuals, preferring that they be sent to a state agency first. But in this case it said the complainant was within his rights to file directly with the court.

The court ordered Mr Pita and the party to send their explanations within 15 days after receiving copies of the complaint.

Mr Theerayut is best known for representing Phra Buddha Isara, a monk who was a key agitator in the Bangkok Shutdown protests that led to the 2014 military coup. He was later defrocked and is now known as Suwit Thongprasert.

The two cases represent yet another hurdle for Mr Pita to surmount. Although he leads the largest party in the eight-member coalition, it is far from clear that he has enough votes to be confirmed as prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Thursday.

Even senators who might have been leaning toward supporting Mr Pita might be having second thoughts if they think the court will rule against him, political analysts have said.

Move Forward on Wednesday accused the Election Commission of “abuse of power” for not inviting Mr Pita to defend himself before it sent the case to the court.

Mr Pita said the process seemed rushed but added that he remained in good spirits and would be able to answer any questions parliamentarians have prior to the vote on Thursday.

Speaking earlier to Thairath TV, he said of the senators: “It’s not their job to prove my guilt in the media share case, that’s for the judiciary. They’re supposed to side with the people. In 2019 they said they’ll respect the side with the most seats and they did (confirm Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as PM). We expect the same now.”

The Constitutional Court has given Pita Limjaroenrat and the Move Forward Party 15 days to respond to a complaint about their plans to amend the lese-majeste law. (Bangkok Post File Photo)

Former Myanmar leader ‘in good health’ and ‘encouraged dialogue’ to resolve crisis in country

JAKARTA: Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai says he met with ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday, her first known meeting with a foreign envoy since she was detained following the 2021 military coup.

The 78-year-old Nobel peace laureate was in good health, Mr Don said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Jakarta.

The former state counsellor has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for a multitude of offences after a series of closed trials. She was arrested in February 2021 when the military launched a coup against her elected government. She denies wrongdoing and is in the process of appealing her convictions before the Supreme Court this month.

Mr Don, a regular visitor to Nay Pyi Taw, gave no details about where the meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi took place. She is being held in an annex of a prison in the Myanmar capital and has been denied visits, including from her legal team.

“There was a meeting, she was in good health and it was a good meeting,” Mr Don said, adding that she had called for renewed talks to end the crisis.

“She encouraged dialogue,” he said.

The meeting was private and lasted “over one hour”, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP.

Mr Don, who caused a stir last month when he invited Asean counterparts to a meeting aimed at re-engaging with Myanmar’s ostracised military rulers (most stayed away), said the objective of seeing Aung San Suu Kyi was in line the bloc’s peace plan.

The so-called five-point consensus of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is the only official diplomatic process in play for achieving peace in Myanmar. Asean has barred the generals from its high-level meetings over their failure to honour the agreement.

“(The meeting) is an approach of the friends of Myanmar, who would like to see a peaceful settlement,” Mr Don told reporters in Jakarta.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been convicted of more than a dozen offences, ranging from incitement and election fraud to corruption and breaches of a state secrets law, in trials dismissed around the world as a sham.

Engagement debated

This week’s Asean meeting has been dominated by the crisis, which has left the bloc divided about how and whether it should re-engage with the junta.

Mr Don said he was advocating for “engagement with the authorities in Nay Pyi Taw”.

“Obviously, we are trying to find a way to settle Myanmar. After two years, there’s a development and that should be … positive,” he said.

The junta has rebuffed repeated requests by foreign diplomats to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, and for much of her trial, her lawyers were barred from speaking to the media.

In June last year, she was transferred from house arrest in Nay Pyi Taw to solitary confinement in prison.

Mr Don “visited (Nay Pyi Taw) just for a day trip and met with the commander in chief”, a senior military official told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing.

“I didn’t know about any meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said.

The military alleged widespread voter fraud during the elections in November 2020, which were won resoundingly by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, as a reason for its coup, which sparked huge protests and a bloody crackdown.

International observers said at the time that the polls were largely free and fair.

The NLD was decimated by the coup, with many senior members jailed or sent into hiding.

More than one million people have been displaced by fighting between the junta and opponents of the coup, according to the United Nations.

Amid heightened concern since Don Mueang travelator incident, shopping centre issues timely report

The management of Mega Bangna shopping centre in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan have explained why an escalator suddenly stopped working on Tuesday.

The incident was accompanied by a loud noise and alarmed some customers, one of whom posted about it on Facebook.

The statement said the incident occurred at 4.51pm and was caused by an object that dropped onto the moving staircase and blocked its movement. This caused the safety switch to cut off the system, in line with safety standards.

The loud noise might have caused some alarm, but nobody was hurt.

The escalator was temporarily suspended from use while it was inspected and fixed.

All equipment used at the shopping centre was regularly checked and maintenance carried out, the statement said.

The management welcomed opinions and constructive advice to improve its services, the statement said.

Public concern about the safety of moving walkways has been heightened since an incident last month at Don Mueang Airport, where an accident on a travelator cost a 57-year-old woman a part of her left leg.

Airports of Thailand has ordered a thorough investigation by experts and is expected to release a public report soon.