Abhisit sets condition to karun

The House yesterday saw two hours of heated debate but failed to draw a conclusion on how to penalise Karun for the verbal and physical assault on Democrat MP Somkiart Pongpaiboon.

On the House floor, Deputy House Speaker Apiwan Wiriyachai, who chaired the investigative panel, read out his report on Karun's misconduct.

He said the panel met seven times and heard the testimonies of nine eyewitnesses in order to answer two key questions - whether Karun had executed a kung-fu kick against Somkiart and whether he had used rude language.

The panel found that Karun did assault Somkiart and that he had used impolite words, he said.

Before allowing government and opposition MPs to debate the issue, he said Karun and Somkiart both showed willingness to forgive and forget when he invited them to his office for a mediation session.

He said he turned down a plea by Karun to act as a go-between to mend fences with the opposition as he deemed it necessary for Karun to take responsibility for his actions.

Many government MPs expressed disbelief about Karun's misconduct and questioned the report's credibility while opposition members demanded punishment.

Karun said he had no opinion on the conclusion drawn by the report because he did not assault Somkiart.

"Although the panel is responsible for a fact-finding mission, it is not a court of law to judge me," he said.

Speaking from the House floor, Abhisit said the opposition members are willing to drop the matter if Karun concedes he has erred.