Bangkok: Supachai is preparing to sue the People's Party and Jaturong for defamation, alleging that they falsely claimed Anutin was related to Italian-Thai Development. He warns that the penalty could lead to the entire executive committee being dismissed and possibly imprisonment, and emphasizes that he will pursue the case to the fullest extent.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Supachai Jaisamut, a candidate for MP on the party-list and chairman of the legal working group of the Bhumjaithai Party, stated that with the election approaching and campaigning intensifying, defamation through false and misleading statements is rampant. Recently, the People's Party (Prachachon) claimed to have been defamed and filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) after news broke that one of their candidates was arrested for money laundering related to drug offenses. However, when he urged the People's Party to clarify and reprimand Mr. Jaturong Hirankanj, a former party-list candidate of the Move Forward Party, for posting false information accusing Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, of ties to Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, the People's Party has remained silent. Yet, when their own party is falsely accused, they file complaints with the EC against others.
Today, the Bhumjaithai Party will be filing legal action against its party leader and executive committee members for violations of the Political Parties Act and the Constitutional Act on the Election of Members of Parliament, which carry criminal penalties. Regarding the executive committee, Section 22 clearly states that the executive committee of a political party must control and supervise members to prevent them from acting in violation of the Constitution, laws, regulations, and various announcements. Furthermore, when a royal decree is issued for an election of Members of Parliament, the committee has a duty to control and supervise members or those holding positions within the political party to prevent them from acting in a manner that would undermine the fairness or integrity of the election, is unlawful, or may benefit or harm any individual who has applied for membership, directly or indirectly.
'If it appears that the Registrar of Political Parties has notified them to suspend such actions and they fail to do so, there will be administrative penalties. The Registrar will order the entire executive committee of that political party to be dismissed. This is why I have been warning them to suspend these actions. There are penalties as mentioned, as well as criminal penalties: imprisonment from 7 to 15 years, a fine from 140,000 to 300,000 baht, or both. Therefore, today I will file a criminal complaint against Mr. Jaturong for violating Section 73 of the Organic Act on the Election of Members of Parliament, and also for introducing false information into a computer system. We will pursue this to the fullest extent. At the same time, we will take legal action against the People's Party and file a complaint with the Election Commission to take action under the Political Parties Act. We want to set an example, to ensure that you conduct politics cleanly, as you claim to do, not saying one thing and doing another, speaking of white while engaging in gray and black activities. I believe society needs to pay attention to this because it is a serious matter, and we will pursue legal action against you to the fullest extent,' Mr. Supachai said.