NLA drops bid to probe Kittiratt

NLA drops bid to probe Kittiratt

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) has dropped impeachment bids against former finance minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong and a group of 310 MPs.

Mr Kittiratt was facing charges for failing to set up a pension fund for casual workers, while the 310 MPs were under scrutiny for supporting the blanket amnesty bill.

The decision to drop the impeachment bids was in line with suggestions by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai told an assembly meeting Thursday the chairman of the anti-graft agency had sent him two letters concerning the cases.

Kittiratt Na-Ranong: Ex-finance minister off the NLA hook

The first letter discussed the outcome of the NACC's investigation into the impeachment bid against Mr Kittiratt and said a majority of anti-graft commissioners had decided not to impeach the former minister. 

The Democrat Party submitted an impeachment petition to the NACC in May last year. It accused Mr Kittiratt of failing to adhere to the 2011 National Savings Fund Act, which stipulates that a pension fund should be set up for casual workers.

The NACC concluded there were no grounds to accuse the former finance minister of neglecting his duties or causing damage to others, Mr Pornpetch said. Malfeasance charges against him under Section 157 of the Criminal Code have also been dropped, the NLA speaker said.

The second NACC letter outlined its decision to drop an impeachment bid against 310 Lower House members who voted for the controversial amnesty bill last year. The bill drew fierce opposition because it would have absolved not only political demonstrators but those involved in corruption cases after the Thaksin Shinawatra government was ousted in the 2006 coup.

In response, Yingluck Shinawatra's government withdrew a handful of other amnesty and reconciliation bills and promised not to revive the blanket bill that the Senate voted down.

Citing the NACC's decision, Mr Pornpetch said the impeachment bid was based on an alleged violation of the 2007 charter, which is now abolished, so the agency now has no ground to carry on its probe.

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