Eyebrows are being raised as an ex-lawyer is tipped to become a cabinet minister despite having served jail time for contempt of court over the so-called "cash-stuffed paper bag" scandal representing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a controversial land case in 2008.
Pichit Chuenban has been thrust into the spotlight as he is expected to serve as the PM's Office Minister under the Pheu Thai-led coalition government, according to sources.
Thaksin -- the former fugitive ex-PM who has long been considered the puppet master pulling Pheu Thai's strings -- returned to Thailand last week after living in self-imposed exile for 15 years.
On June 25, 2008, the Supreme Court sentenced Mr Pichit and two of his colleagues to six months each in jail for contempt of court after they tried to bribe Supreme Court officials by handing them a paper bag containing two million baht in cash a fortnight earlier.
All three represented Thaksin and his ex-wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, in the Ratchadaphisek land case, for which Thaksin was sentenced to two years in prison in 2008.
They were disbarred by the Lawyers Council of Thailand for five years after the council's ethics committee found they had breached the code of conduct, based on the Supreme Court ruling.
In 2011, Mr Pichit was elected as a Pheu Thai list-MP and later acted as a lawyer for then-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra -- Thaksin's younger sister -- when she faced impeachment proceedings for her role in her government's loss-ridden rice-pledging scheme.
Mr Pichit was among 10 people who visited Thaksin at the Police General Hospital on Monday, according to the sources.
Khomsan Phokhong, a vice dean at Rangsit University's faculty of law, said Mr Pichit is not qualified to hold a cabinet post as he served jail time for attempted bribery.
Even though he was released over a decade ago and is not barred by any constitutional provisions from joining the new cabinet, his past conduct creates an ethical quandary, Mr Khomsan said.
"Mr Pichit was found guilty of contempt of court under the Civil Procedure Code, not the Criminal Procedure Code. Therefore, the provisions in the charter regarding cabinet ministers' qualifications do not apply. But ethical issues and a sense of appropriateness must be taken into account," Mr Khomsan said.
The cabinet's secretariat must scrutinise the cabinet line-up before submitting it for royal endorsement, he added.
The nation's newly elected prime minister, property developer tycoon Srettha Thavisin, denied speculation that Mr Pichit would become a lightning rod for criticism of the government.
Mr Srettha said the secretary-general of the cabinet would spend two days verifying the qualifications of those chosen before submitting the list for royal endorsement.
Meanwhile, outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Tuesday that Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon's earlier dismissal from the position of national police chief also does not disqualify him from serving in the new cabinet.
He is tipped to be appointed a deputy prime minister and minister for natural resources and the environment.
Mr Wissanu said that as Pol Gen Patcharawat was later reinstated by the since-disbanded National Council for Peace and Order, this negated his previous dismissal.
Pol Gen Patcharawat is the chief adviser of the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and the younger brother of party leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon.