The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions yesterday sentenced Anurak Tangpanitanon, a former Pheu Thai MP for Mukdahan, to six years in jail over a 5-million-baht bribe.
Mr Anurak was indicted for demanding the bribe in exchange for passing a proposed budget allocation deal when he served on the House committee vetting the 2021 budget bill.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) recommended his indictment after its inquiry found there were grounds for the allegation. The case was filed with the court by the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG).
In its ruling, the court found Mr Anurak guilty of violating the Criminal Code and the anti-corruption law for demanding the bribe from Sakda Wichiansilp, director-general of the Department of Groundwater Resources, in exchange for not trimming the department’s budget in a 2021 budget allocation.
In addition to the six-year prison sentence, the court also retrospectively stripped Mr Anurak of the MP position he had held from April 19, 2021, and banned him from running in an election and holding political positions for life and from voting for ten years.
In January this year, the court found him guilty of violating the parliamentary ethical code for demanding the bribe. The misconduct was deemed an abuse of his authority as an MP to obtain personal gain, which is prohibited under Section 87 of the 2018 organic law on corruption suppression and prevention.
The scandal came to light when Mr Sakda spilt the beans during a meeting with the sub-committee reviewing the budget allocation for his department, saying a sub-committee member had demanded 5 million baht in exchange for passing this proposed budget allocation.
Mr Anurak will appeal the court’s ruling.