A campaign has begun to seek the removal of the five members of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) who voted to clear Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon of wrongdoing in the luxury watch scandal.
Activist Srisuwan Janya and Democrat Party member Charnchai Issarasenarak are among those who have announced plans to mobilise public support for their bid to seek impeachment of the commissioners.
The NACC on Thursday voted 5:3 to clear Gen Prawit of failing to include 22 luxury watches and 12 rings on the list of assets and debts he submitted to the anti-graft agency upon assuming his cabinet post in 2014.
The commission found there was not enough evidence to rule that the deputy premier deliberately gave a false statement or concealed his wealth.
The commissioners who cleared Gen Prawit were Preecha Lertkamolmart, Narong Rathamarit, Vittaya Arkompituk, Surasak Keereevichien and Boonyavat Kruahongs.
Sataphon Laothong, Supa Piyajitti and Suwana Suwanjuta, however, found there was insufficient information to give a ruling and proposed that more evidence should be collected.
The former five have been widely condemned for a ruling which accepted Gen Prawit's claim that the luxury watches belonged to his close friend, Patthawat Suksriwong, who passed away in early 2017, and that they were not part of the assets he was required to declare.
Mr Srisuwan wrote on his Facebook page that the five commissioners should have asked for more evidence. In clearing Gen Prawit, they might have committed malfeasance and violated Section 234 (1) of the charter, he claimed.
He called on members of the public to sign a petition seeking the impeachment of the commissioners.
The petition requires support from 20,000 people to trigger its submission to the National Legislative Assembly which would consider passing a request to the Supreme Court calling for the launch of an independent inquiry, he said.
Mr Charnchai said the ruling has cast doubts over the integrity and transparency of the five commissioners, noting the case should be forwarded to the court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.
"This raises the question of whether those five NACC members are fit to do the job. Gen Prawit should also consider if he is fit to carry out reforms," he said.
The Democrat member pledged to seek the removal of the commissioners as soon as the House of Representatives is in place by lodging a motion seeking their impeachment.
Thai Raksa Chart key member Chaturon Chaisang said the ruling was not unexpected but was nevertheless hard for most people to stomach.
He said the case reflected a more serious problem -- flaws in the country's checks-and-balances mechanism which are the result of the regime's interference.
He said the appointment of the NACC members had been interfered with by the government and the commission now lacked legitimacy and independence, and insisted that the current members should be replaced.
Rangsiman Rome, assistant secretary-general of the Future Forward Party, on Friday described the ruling as a disappointment, saying the focus of the scandal was actually about Gen Prawit borrowing an item worth over 3,000 baht.
He said what the public wanted to know was whether borrowing something worth more than 3,000 baht was an offence.
"For a year the public waited for the result of the probe, but the ruling just confirmed Gen Prawit's claim. We want to know what the ruling is based on. Is it just Gen Prawit's statement?" he said.
Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, on Friday said the five commissioners have become "co-defendants" because their ruling showed they believed Gen Prawit's statement without seeking further evidence.
"It is a pity a case which has badly affected public trust won't go before prosecutors and the court," he wrote on Facebook.
He also said the NACC should clear up a number of issues raised after its ruling suggested there were certain things which are not required to be declared.
"What if a government official obtains a loan from a close relative, which is interest-free and can be repaid at his convenience, is this debt required to be declared?
"If debts are also required to be declared, should borrowed and returned items that are expensive be required to be declared?" he wrote.
NACC secretary-general Worawit Sookboon on Friday defended the NACC ruling, saying it was based on evidence, facts and laws, and had not been subject to outside influence. He said critics are entitled to their opinion and they have the right to seek impeachment, but insisted that the NACC's work had been done in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, CSI LA, the Facebook page that compiled the pictures of the luxury watches worn by Gen Prawit, on Friday called on the NACC to disclose all the information about the wristwatches. It suggested there was still more details yet to come to light.
It claimed that one of the watches, a Rolex Yacht Master 40 Everose Gold Black Rubber, was released in late 2016, and demanded to know when Patthawat, who passed away in early 2017, obtained the item.
