Watana Muangsook, a Pheu Thai Party core member, has asked the court for politicians to investigate the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for allegedly tampering with witness statements in the Baan Ua-arthorn housing project scandal.
The former social development and human security minister said at a briefing on Saturday he had asked the court to check the statements of two witnesses, Pittaya Charoenwan and Pornsak Boonyodom, who were high-ranking officials of the National Housing Authority (NHA) when the low-cost housing programme got under way in the early 2000s.
He claimed their statements had been doctored since they were different from the versions taken by the Asset Scrutiny Committee (ASC), a body set up after the 2006 coup to build cases against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
“Of Mr Pornsak’s 23-page statement, pages 15-22 were not signed by him. It’s impossible he forgot. A more likely scenario is the originals were removed and other information was inserted," said Mr Watana.
“His statement was in my favour. He testified that I did not order or intervene in the housing project or set the terms of reference arbitrarily. In fact, the same terms remain in use even after two military coups."
Mr Watana claimed the missing parts were crucial to the case. “For instance, on the accusation I had called a meeting among operators and demanded kickbacks from them, the fact is the meeting was officially called by the board of the National Housing Authority, with board members present and minutes properly taken. No one in his right mind dares to demand bribes at such a meeting,” he claimed.
He added the NACC had made no attempt to look for facts but tried to do everything to convict him. “Some parts of official documents were removed and such action is a criminal offence.
Prosecutors will consider submitting his petition and if they decide to go forward, it will be brought to court on Thursday.
The case was among several handled by the ASC after the 2006 coup. It was picked up after the 2014 coup by the NACC, which decided the case had grounds. Prosecutors later charged Mr Watana with soliciting and accepting bribes while being a state official, an offence that carries a death penalty.
Mr Wattana and nine others were accused of demanding bribes from developers who built houses for the low-cost housing project.