Pheu Thai hit by sex scandal, claims of naked photos of former deputy PM
Any member of Pheu Thai will be expelled from the party if he is proven to be the former deputy premier alleged to have had a sexual affair with a married woman, the opposition party’s deputy leader, Yutthapong Jarassathian, told a press conference on Sunday.
The press conference followed a bombshell claim on Saturday that a former deputy premier had had a sexual relationship with a married woman. The woman’s husband allegedly found naked photos of her with a former Pheu Thai deputy premier but faced intimidation after attempting to divorce her.
These claims were made by lawyer Sittra Biabunkerd in a Facebook post that included a photo and a message saying that a former deputy prime minister had had an affair with the wife of his client, identified by the pseudonym “Mr. Kor”.
Yutthapong told the press conference he had asked an aide who knows the lawyer to get more information. He was then informed that the “former deputy prime minister” had been a member of the Yingluck Shinawatra Cabinet.
Because of Sittra’s Facebook post everybody wants to know who the politician is, Yutthapong said.
“I have checked the list of former deputy prime ministers and found that most are between 80 and 90 years old, so they should not be capable of doing this kind of thing,” Yutthapong said, suggesting that the former deputy premiers were impotent.
Yutthapong said he also asked former deputy prime minister Yongyuth Wichaidith if he was the politician allegedly involved in the sex scandal, but Yongyuth denied it was him.
Yingluck’s government had several deputy prime ministers from Pheu Thai and its coalition partners, Yutthapong said.
Yutthapong asked for the media’s help, saying: “The media must find out from Sittra who [the deputy premier allegedly involved in the sex scandal] is. This issue cannot be ignored because it concerns the ethics of officeholders,” he added.
Sitta’s initial post said he had been approached by “Mr. Kor” for a legal consultation last year. The new client said his wife had become distant over the past year. As a result, he checked her mobile phone to find out why. He found photos of her with a former deputy PM. In some, they were both naked.
Sitta’s initial post went viral, accumulating more than 14,000 comments, 9,500 shares, and 103,000 reactions as of Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday, Sittra posted more information: a chat log of the woman and the alleged politician in which she said she was unavailable for sex because she had Covid-19. However, despite having the virus, she said they would dine together, according to the post.
Sittra also released more information about how he got to know “Mr Kor”, saying that after he filed for divorce from his wife, he became the victim of intimidation. As a result, he decided to go public with the case.
Sittra said he was handling the case cautiously to minimise its impact on the Pheu Thai Party.
“Everybody will know who [the politician] is for sure,” Sittra said.
“I would like to see whether the prime minister dares to touch this issue because some members of his Cabinet are also accused of unethical behaviour,” Yutthapong said.
If Sittra unveils the politician and he is a member of Pheu Thai, he will ask Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew to conduct an urgent investigation, Yutthapong said.
