A Move Forward Party MP for Rayong, Nakhonchai Khunnarong, announced his resignation on Thursday after admitting he had been convicted in a theft case and served 18 months in jail more than two decades ago.
Nakhonchai, better known as “Ice Rayong”, clarified questions surrounding his criminal record on Facebook after Seri Ruam Thai Party leader Sereepisuth Temeeyaves on Wednesday claimed the MP was an ex-con and should not have been allowed to run for a House seat.
Nakhonchai, who was elected in Constituency 3, admitted he had served time in jail but said he believed the offence did not bar him from standing in the election.
He apologised to voters and said he would take responsibility by stepping down as an MP. He added that he was prepared to fight any charges, including contesting another election if need be.
The case dated back to October 1999, he said, when he was partying with a group of friends. He said he found a woman’s wristwatch but was arrested by police along with a friend who confessed to stealing it.
At the police station, he said he unknowingly signed a confession. He was sentenced to three years in jail, but the sentence was cut in half due to his confession.
“I believe my past didn’t make me unqualified to run. I don’t believe it’s one of the offences in the charter,” he wrote.
The election office in Rayong reportedly forwarded an investigation report into his background to the Election Commission but the latter had not had time to study it before the May 14 polls.
Pol Gen Sereepisuth is a member of the eight-party coalition which — for now, at least — includes Move Forward and his own party. In recent days he has made several comments critical of the Move Forward leadership and suggested they need to sacrifice themselves so that the Pheu Thai Party can form a government.