Pheu Thai CEO candidate faces jail for embezzling flood relief funds
The ruling party’s failed Pathum Thani CEO candidate and six others get six years and 18 months for siphoning 1 million baht from flood alleviation funds in 2011
Pheu Thai’s candidate for the Pathum Thani CEO election and six accomplices were sentenced to six years and 18 months in jail for siphoning flood alleviation funds in 2011.
On Thursday, the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Area 1 found Charn Puangphet and six accomplices guilty of siphoning about 1 million baht from funds earmarked for buying necessities to help Pathum Thani flood victims in 2011.
The court was initially scheduled to issue the verdict on September 17, but Charn asked for a postponement as he was contesting for the post of CEO at the Pathum Thani Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO).
Charn had initially won the CEO election on June 30, beating the incumbent and independent candidate, Pol Lt-General Khamronwit Thupkrachang, by just 1,820 votes. Charn got 203,032 votes and Khamronwit 201,212 votes.
However, the Election Commission annulled the election results because the Pheu Thai patriarch, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, had thrown a party to influence voters.
In a second election on September 22, Khamronwit retained his post, beating Charn by almost 68,000 votes. He won 187,975 votes, compared to Charn’s 120,007.
Meanwhile, the court ruled that Charn and his accomplices had siphoned the budget twice, so each was given five years for each count.
However, the court commuted the sentence by a third on the grounds that the defendants had provided useful information during the trial, so each ended up with three years and nine months for each count, which comes up to six years and 18 months for two counts.
