PUBLISHED: 19 Oct 2024 at 04: 00
Samart Janechaittawanich was fired as a deputy spokesman by the Palang Pracharath Party ( PPRP ) yesterday after it was claimed he extorted money from the CEO of The iCon Group, the direct sales company at the center of an alleged public fraud scam.
As the police investigation into the image Group incident was progressing, PPRP secretary-general Paiboon Nititawan claimed that Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, the PPRP head, had ordered that Mr. Samart be promptly fired from his placement.
When asked whether Mr Samart had been expelled from the party, Mr Paiboon said that, per rules, an ejection must be approved by the group executive committee. He added that Mr. Samart had remained unmoved.
Gen Prawit is concerned about the subjects, and Mr. Paiboon stated that he is carefully following the research and will discuss the matter with a group executive meeting on October 29.
Following the release of an audio tape purportedly featuring a discussion between Warathaphon Waratyaworrakul, the CEO and founder of The image Group, and a non-MP House council member, Mr. Samart became involved in the scandal.
Mr. Warathaphon explained in a television interview that the person in the audio tape offered to help him resolve a dispute for 100, 000 ringgit.
The discussion, according to Mr. Warathaphon, occurred about two years ago and was unrelated to the current issue. Mr. Samart threatened to sue anyone who had ties to The symbol Group and made a staunch denunciation of his identity in the tape.
Sitra Biabangkerd, a prominent lawyer, requested yesterday that House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha look into two sound clips supposedly featuring Mr. Samart.
Mr. Sitra even urged the House Speaker to appoint Mr. Samart to any of the House boards he sits on if he was discovered to be the wrong person. He noted that Mr Samart serves on about 10 boards.
The attorney also refrained from threatening to sue Mr. Samart if someone accused him of being involved in The symbol Group scandal, claiming that even those close to him had confirmed that Mr. Samart was speaking.
Instead of simply removing Mr. Samart from the lieutenant spokesman position or extinguing him from the party, Mr. Sitra also demanded that the PPRP look into Mr. Samart’s reported extortion.
Muk Sulaiman, Mr Wan Noor’s minister, said yesterday that the House Speaker had ordered all commissions to observe the do of people and any misuse of opportunities.