Judge bribe attempt alleged
Justice Ministry permanent secretary Charan Pakdithanakul yesterday claimed that a senior official had tried to pay kickbacks for an acquittal verdict in the electoral fraud case involving the Thai Rak Thai Party.
"A ranking official approached Constitution Tribunal judges and offered them bribes to fix the verdict," Charan said in reference to the last month's guilty verdict and disbanding of the former ruling party.He refused to name the official or the judges involved. "Someone might have thought that money could buy everything," he said, side-stepping a question on the amount of money offered. Reacting to Charan's comments, tribunal judge Thanis Kesawapirak said he was unaware of any bribery attempt. "I formed my decision based on legal principles and do not know how Charan got his information," he said. He voiced scepticism that any of the nine tribunal judges had been offered kickbacks. Thanis urged law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of the allegation in order to clear up any doubts on the judicial system. Judicial Office deputy secretary-general Sarawut Benjathikul said offenders could be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to Bt14,000 for offering bribes. He said police should launch an investigation into the issue.
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