The Supreme Court has sentenced former Pheu Thai Party MP Saranwut Saranket to eight months in prison for allowing another MP to use his parliamentary ID card to vote on his behalf.
The ruling, issued on Monday in the court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions and reported on Wednesday, followed a prosecution by the Office of the Attorney-General over an incident during a special House session on Sept 20, 2013.
Saranwut, then an Uttaradit MP, was absent from the House while travelling to Sukhothai. The prosecution says he left his electronic ID card with another MP, who used it repeatedly to register his presence and vote on his behalf on a bill authorising the Finance Ministry to borrow money for transport infrastructure development.
Saranwut denied the allegations.
The court’s majority found that the repeated use of his card while he was absent could not reasonably have occurred without his knowledge or consent. The card clearly displayed the holder’s photograph and name, while voting required several steps. The voting record also matched Saranwut’s earlier votes and his party’s position at the time.
The court rejected his claim that a parliamentary official had kept his card for him, noting that the official had been transferred months before the incident and was no longer responsible for facilitating House meetings.
The court ruled that proxy voting violated the constitution and House regulations, which required each MP to cast one vote personally. It said the conduct undermined public confidence in the legislature and constituted a serious breach of official duty.
Saranwut was initially sentenced to one year under Section 123/1 of the 1999 anti-corruption law. The court reduced the sentence by one-third because it deemed his statement during the evidence examination partially useful.
The court rejected a request to suspend the sentence, saying his health condition did not provide sufficient grounds. It later granted him temporary release while it considered his appeal.