Chaikasem Nitisiri, a former attorney-general and prime ministerial candidate of the governing Pheu Thai Party, had no part in a 2008 decision not to indict Pichit Chuenban on a court bribery charge, according to the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG).
Officials from the OAG were responding on Thursday to questions about the cases involving Pichit, whose recent appointment to the cabinet cost Srettha Thavisin his premiership this week.
Pichit and two other lawyers were accused of attempting to bribe the Supreme Court, which was handling a case in 2008 against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin was accused of malfeasance for helping his then-wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, secure some prime land on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok at a discount in 2003.
The three lawyers, who were representing Thaksin in the case, were caught trying to bribe Supreme Court officials by handing them a paper bag containing 2 million baht in cash.
The police investigating the case found insufficient evidence to recommend the lawyers’ indictment to the prosecutors. The OAG later agreed not to indict the trio on bribery charges.
However, the lawyers were convicted by the Supreme Court of a separate charge of contempt of court in connection with the alleged bribery. They were deemed to have behaved inappropriately on the court premises, for which they were each sentenced to six months in jail.
With Mr Srettha removed as prime minister, Mr Chaikasem, one of two remaining prime ministerial candidates on the Pheu Thai list, was initially speculated as a possible successor. As it turned out, the party on Thursday chose Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn instead. The House will vote on her nomination on Friday.
With Mr Chaikasem once more in the news, public interest revived in the role he played at the OAG when the Pichit case came to its attention.
As it turned out, Kayasit Pissawongprakan, then the director-general of the Department of Criminal Litigation, signed off on the decision not to indict, said OAG spokesman Prayuth Phetkhun.
Mr Kayasit was acting on a no-indictment recommendation submitted to the OAG by the Chana Songkhram police, who were in charge of the bribery investigation.
The police team found no proof that the three lawyers had committed the bribery offence as accused, Mr Prayuth said on Thursday.
The prosecutors’ team studying the police report agreed with the no-indictment recommendation and suggested that Mr Kayasit not send the case to court. Mr Kayasit agreed, according to Mr Prayuth.
The Royal Thai Police also had no objection to the prosecutors not proceeding with indictment.
It is untrue that Mr Chaikasem, who was attorney-general at the time, ordered the three lawyers not to be indicted, he added.