Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has written a letter to former Pheu Thai Party leader Yongyuth Wichaidit, praising him for his sacrifice for the party.
Mr Yongyuth resigned last month as deputy prime minister, interior minister, an MP and Pheu Thai leader to take responsibility for his role in the decade-old Alpine Golf Course case.
Thaksin's son, Panthongtae, offered details on his Facebook page on Saturday of the hand-written letter his father had written. It said Mr Yongyuth had shown a political spirit rarely seen in current Thai political society.
Thaksin was quoted as saying that the Pheu Thai Party was currently "fragile", receiving no justice and remained in a position where it had to be very careful about the ongoing political situation.
In such a situation, the party needed someone willing to make sacrifices, as Mr Yongyuth had, to help keep the party safe, Thaksin added.
He called on Mr Yongyuth to continue working for the party to help Thai people to be strong and stand up on their own feet.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) earlier this year found Mr Yongyuth, 70, guilty of malfeasance in the Alpine land case.
As deputy permanent secretary for the Interior Ministry in 2002, he approved the sale of plots of land in Pathum Thani to Alpine Real Estate and Alpine Golf and Sports Club in 2002 despite a Council of State ruling that it was monastic land and could not be sold or transferred.
The real estate companies that had developed the Alpine land were owned by family and friends of former deputy interior minister Sanoh Thienthong, and the property was later sold to Thaksin.
Charges were also sought against Mr Sanoh in the Alpine case but never filed as the statute of limitations ran out in 2010.