POLITICS
Three former election commissioners yesterday lost another fight in the Appeal Court, which upheld the two-year jail terms and a 10-year political ban imposed on them for stalling the investigation into the Thai Rak Thai party's electoral fraud. They lost a separate case last month in the Appeal Court, which then jailed them for four years. The three former commissioners now face a total of six years in jail.
In September 2006, the lower court found Wasana Permlap, Prinya Nakchudtree and Veerachai Naewboonnien guilty of malfeasance in the investigation into the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party's hiring of two smaller parties to run in the April 2006 elections.
They were each given two-year prison terms and stripped of their electoral rights for 10 years.
The Appeal Court yesterday rejected their request for reduced sentences, in which they cited their good track records and medical problems.
The court ruled they did not do their job, which was to ensure honest and fair elections.
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| Pol Gen Wasana Permlap, former chairman of the Election Commission, at the Criminal Court in Bangkok yesterday where he heard the Appeal Court's verdict upholding a two-year jail term and a 10-year political ban against him for mishandling the April 2, 2006 election and subsequent polls. |
The three defendants listened to the verdict quietly and did not give any interviews.
They each posted 120,000 baht bail.
The case against the former commissioners was filed by Democrat party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban.
Mr Suthep charged the trio with instructing an investigation panel led by Nam Yimyaem to quiz 15 more witnesses after the panel recommended to the Election Commission on April 7 that it take action against the TRT party for election fraud.
The panel stood by its findings after the additional interrogations.
The panel found that close aides to then deputy TRT leader Thammarak Isarangkura na Ayudhaya arranged for the little-known Pattana Chart Thai and Phaendin Thai parties to contest the April 2 election so the TRT candidates could avoid the requirement to win at least 20% of the eligible vote in a one-horse race.
The three commissioners did not file a charge against the TRT and ordered an additional inquiry.
They said some evidence was irrelevant and Mr Nam added his personal comments, which were inconsistent with the EC's inquiry regulations.
In addition, the trio allowed failed candidates of the small parties to wrongfully switch constituencies and stand in the subsequent by-elections.
It was a second blow for the three former commissioners in less than a month.
On April 24, the Appeal Court handed down a four-year jail term and stripped them of their voting rights for 10 years in a separate case, for mishandling the April 2, 2006 polls and subsequent elections. That case was filed by another Democrat member, Thavorn Saneniem.
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