Top Judge : Suspect tried to bribe me

Constitution Tribunal Judge ML Krairerk Kasemsan's testimony to police which alleged that Pol Col Charnchai Netrirattakarn tried to bribe him to vote against the dissolution of a political party provided the main information which made the Criminal Court issue an arrest warrant for the colonel on Wednesday.

"Pol Col Charnchai went to meet ML Krairerk by himself to offer him a bribe. But ML Krairerk rejected the bribe," read the police document submitted to the Court.

ML Krairerk is also Supreme Court vice president. The Criminal Court on Wednesday approved police request to issue arrest warrant for Pol Col Charnchai, a former police chief of Nakhon Pathom province.

The bribe is alleged to have been an effort to save the now defunct Thai Rak Thai Party from an election fraud conviction and subsequent dissolution.

Justice Ministry permanent secretary Charan Phakdithanakul dropped the bombshell bribery allegation in June, saying a senior official tried to secure a "not guilty verdict" for Thai Rak Thai by offering money to the judges.

Later, Weera Somkwamkid, secretarygeneral to the AntiCorruption People's Network, filed a complaint with police accusing highranking court officials and a police colonel who graduated from Thammasat University's Faculty of Law in 1966 of violating Article 167 of the Criminal Law for offering bribes and Article 157 of the Criminal Law for malfeasance.

"We have solid evidence which is the completely credible testimony of judges and former senior judges, with especially incriminating testimony from ML Krairerk. Although the judges did not accept the bribes, the offence was committed and the suspect must be prosecuted," Chongrak said on Tuesday.

Poll case judges offered Bt30m