A Pheu Thai party member has asked the prime minister to probe his deputy Wissanu Krea-ngam's written request for the parole of an inmate.
Ruangkrai Leekijwattana, member of Pheu Thai party's legal team, submitted a letter to the prime minister through the service centre at the Office of the Civil Service Commission on Monday.
In the letter, he asked Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to consider whether Mr Wissanu had violated a 2008 regulation of the Prime Minister's Office on Code of Ethics for Politicians, he said.
Mr Ruangkrai also asked the prime minister to check whether Mr Wissanu had breached the anti-corruption law for seeking undue gains for himself or others while on duty.
He also urged the premier to send the case to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for further consideration.
A Feb 26 Facebook post revealing the photo of a handwritten note alledgely by Mr Wissanu went viral last week. Addressed to the director general of the Corrections Department, the letter was reportedly signed by Mr Wissanu.
In the letter dated Feb 17, the deputy PM asked the Corrections Department chief to consider parole for Jade Meyanyieam, president of the Thai Orchid Exporters Association, who is serving a two-year jail term at Thon Buri Prison "if regulations allow it".
Jade was convicted of perjury by the Supreme Court last year.
He was the second defendant in a case in which Francesco Vadala, an Italian marketing officer of an Italian company, charged Thai Orchids Co Ltd, of which Jade was CEO, and Jade with perjury.
In November 2005, the defendants filed a complaint with police accusing Mr Vadala of claiming to be the owner of a major orchid exporter. They claimed they were convinced and shipped 5.23 million baht worth of orchids to him which he later refused to pay.
Mr Vadala argued he was a marketing officer and quality inspector and the defendants were well of aware of the fact.
The court found that the defendants and the plaintiff had done business since 2002, long before the defendants filed suit. The court reasoned the defendants must have known who Mr Vadala was.
The court sentenced Jade to four years in prison on Feb 4 last year and he later received a royal pardon halving his time.
"Jade has served more than half of the time (one year) and he has health problems. Besides, he is needed to organise the Asia Pacific Orchid Conference which he has held for several years," the letter said.
Since Jade is a first-class inmate, his wife and children submitted a plea for his parole as a special case, the letter said.
A thanpuying, who is the headmaster of a famous school in Bangkok, can vouch for his good behaviour, read the letter.
Mr Wissanu later admitted to having written the letter and insisted he had done nothing wrong. The letter was just an attachment to the plea Jade's wife and children had filed.
He claimed he did not personally know Jade or his family. "I checked the facts. Jade received a royal pardon that halved his jail term to two years. He has already served more than half of that and is a good inmate. By law, a good inmate can be paroled, which means he still has the penalty but can live outside. It's not a release."
Jade also has health problems and remains in hospital all along and this is one of the criteria for parole, Mr Wissanu claimed.
The deputy prime minister said the director of the Corrections Department agreed with him that Jade was qualified for parole. A parole board will consider his case soon, he added.
Mr Wissanu said he would keep doing it because there was nothing wrong with it.