National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has found Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) MP Pareena Kraikupt guilty of severe ethical misconduct, as a result of the land encroachment charges brought against her.
The anti-graft agency yesterday said the outspoken lawmaker from Ratchaburi committed a number of ethical violations, which included damaging the dignity of MPs, as well as conflicts of interest, a source close to the matter said.
Ms Pareena's case will be brought before the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, the source said.
If the court decides to take up the case, its first order of business would be to decide whether or not Ms Pareena's MP status should be revoked.
Ms Pareena will be suspended as an MP until the court delivers its ruling, the source said. If found guilty, she will stripped of her seat and banned from holding political office for life, the source said.
Problems surrounding Ms Pareena's land in Ratchaburi came to light in November 2019, after Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a former member of the dissolved Thai Raksa Chart Party, petitioned authorities to inspect the MP's 711-rai poultry farm in Chom Bung district.
The Royal Forest Department then investigated and surveyed the land, before concluding her farm encroached on public land. It then asked the NACC to take action against the MP.
Pol Maj Gen Pitak Uthaitham, head of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division, said the agency will lay four charges against Ms Pareena for violating the National Forest Act, Forest Reserve Act, Land Act and Environment Act.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and/or a fine of 2 million baht.