The Democrat Party has resolved to expel a failed MP candidate for Sukhothai for having an affair with a Buddhist monk, while the accused woman has tendered her resignation from the party.
Party spokesman Ramet Rattanachaweng on Saturday disclosed the outcome of its fact-finding investigation into the misconduct involving the party member and the young monk.
The panel, chaired by former MP Theerachart Pangwirunrak, questioned the woman and other individuals, including witnesses. It concluded on Friday that there were grounds to the allegations, said Mr Ramet, who also sat on the committee. He declined to go into detail.
According to Mr Ramet, the panel found that the woman had violated party regulations requiring members not to act in any way that would tarnish the party’s reputation. Specifically, she breached party regulation No.124 by behaving in an unethical way, and the committee resolved to expel her.
The panel will submit its findings and the woman’s resignation letter to party leader Chalermchai Sri-on, who will forward the report to the Democrat executive board.
The moves follow the revelation of a video posted on the popular Facebook page E-Sor Khayee Khao on Wednesday, alleging an extramarital affair between a 24-year-old monk and the 45-year-old politician.
The affair was uncovered by the woman’s husband, who drove from Bangkok to the couple’s home in Sukhothai after being told that a monk was staying there. When he arrived he found his wife in bed with the young man. The pair ran naked from the bed and attempted to assault him while he took video with his smartphone.
The monk later renounced his monastic vows and fled from a temple in Uttaradit province.
The husband told the popular Hon Krasae talk show on TV Channel 3 that he first met the female politician during a merit-making event at a temple.
They became engaged in May 2022 and he moved from Bangkok to stay with her at her house in Sukhothai. They lived like husband and wife but were not yet married, he said.
He said his wife had met the young monk during a kathin (robe presentation) ceremony at a temple a few years ago. She later became close to the monk and she often went to his temple. His wife also believed in fortune-telling and past lives, he added.
The husband of a former Democrat Party politician talks about the affair between his 45-year-old wife and a 24-year-old monk on the Hon Krasae talk show on April 11. (Image from video posted by Hon Krasae)