Ex-Pheu Thai MP gets 6 years in jail, lifetime ban over 5-million baht bribe demand
A former Pheu Thai MP was sentenced to six years in jail and banned from politics for life after the court found him guilty of demanding a bribe from a senior official.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office on Tuesday found Anurak Tungpanithanon, former Pheu Thai MP for Mukdahan, guilty of demanding a bribe from Sakda Wichiansilp, retired director-general of the Groundwater Resources Department (GRD).
Anurak was granted bail after he appealed against the ruling.
Public prosecutors accused Anurak of abusing his authority as MP to demand a 5-million baht bribe from Sakda in 2020. The accusations were made in court on February 8, 2022, and prosecutors claimed Anurak made the demand from Sakda when he was GRD chief. Sakda retired from the post last year.
At the time of the incident, Anurak was also a member of the House budget scrutiny committee and chair of the second sub-committee of the House budget panel.
The case against Anurak alleges that he demanded the bribe on the night of August 4, 2020, in exchange for endorsing GRD’s development projects. The lawsuit also alleged that Anurak had also asked Sakda to use his authority to grant some projects to a firm associated with the then-MP.
The lawsuit accused Anurak of violating Articles 172 and 173 of the Corruption Prevention and Suppression Act and the Criminal Code’s Articles 149 and 157.
Anurak, however, has pleaded innocence.
The verdict stated that the public prosecutors had Sakda as their key witness, but his testimony contradicted that of the defendant.
Since both sides provided contradictory accounts, the panel of judges decided to base their ruling on surrounding evidence and incidents, the verdict said.
The ruling also said the judges did not believe Anurak’s claim that he called Sakda to demand more documents necessary for deliberating on GRD projects.
It said Anurak was chair of the subcommittee at the time and could have had the panel’s secretary provide him with the documents. The ruling also pointed out that the phone conversation lasted 15 minutes, far longer than the time needed to just ask for documents.
The court also said a secretary from Anurak’s panel had told Sakda to call Anurak before the former MP called the GRD chief himself. Hence, Anurak’s claim that he was set up to make the phone call does not sound convincing, the verdict said.
The day after the phone call, Sakda reportedly vented his frustration at a meeting with Anurak’s subcommittee, saying a member of the panel tried to extort 5 million baht from him, the verdict said.
The ruling added that Sakda’s comment to the subcommittee showed that he felt pressured by what had happened the night before.
The court also pointed out that Anurak did not attend the meeting in the afternoon. It also said that after Sakda told Padol Thavornkritrat, then director-general of the National Water Resources Department, he learned that Padol had received a similar phone call.
Hence, the verdict said Sakda’s testimony sounded far more convincing and logical. The court also ruled that Anurak must be removed from duty retroactively from April 19, 2023, when the court suspended him as MP.
Anurak is prohibited from holding political positions for life and must spend six years behind bars.
