Yongyuth Not Eligible For Exoneration: Wicha

[webfact]

POLITICS

Yongyuth not eligible for exoneration: NACC's Wicha

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- An anti-graft commissioner insisted yesterday that Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit is not retroactively eligible for the 2007 Exoneration Act for an expulsion order he has just received.

Wicha Mahakhun, a member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission who headed the Alpine golf course land scandal case, said the Interior Ministry's Civil Service Committee had no choice but to retroactively remove Yongyuth as permanent secretary. He said the committee could only decide whether Yongyuth would be allowed to receive a pension or not.

Wicha's panel found Yongyuth abused his duty in the land case, by allowing the land to be sold from a temple to be used as a golf course.

The Civil Service Committee decided to expel Yongyuth as demanded by the NACC but the panel claimed that the order was retroactively overruled by the 2007 Exoneration Act.

But Wicha said Yongyuth had to be punished before being eligible for leniency under the exoneration act. If the ministry disagreed with the NACC decision, it should have submitted its disagreement to the prime minister. Eventually, the disputes could be settled in the Constitution Court, he said.

Wicha said Yongyuth, who graduated from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Political Science, should not distort the laws to his own benefit.

He said the Interior Ministry's Civil Service Committee had yet to send its official decision on the Yongyuth case back to the NACC. The law requires the ministry to inform the NACC about action against Yongyuth within 15 days of any decision by the committee. The committee made the decision on September 20.

Meanwhile, a group of red-shirts from Surin submitted a letter to the Election Commission yesterday, urging EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond, who is the political party registrar, to investigate if Yongyuth is still qualified to be Pheu Thai leader and an MP. The group is led by Thepphanom Namlee.

Thepphanom said red-shirts in several northern, central and northeast provinces feared that Yongyuth would cause Pheu Thai to be dissolved if he remains as party leader after the Civil Service Committee issued the expulsion order against him.

He said red shirts in these provinces would pressure Yongyuth to step down as party leader and would give him a resignation to sign wherever they encounter him.

"Red-shirt people have sacrificed a lot of lives but now an old man will cause the party to be dissolved. So, we have to come out to protect the party," Thepphanom said.

Mongkolkit Suksitharanon, secretary-general of the National Anti-Corruption Network, said the expulsion order retroactively took effect on September 30, 2002, so Yongyuth should have been disqualified as a Pheu Thai member and leader before the 2011 election.

As a result, Mongkolkit said Yongyuth's endorsement of Pheu Thai candidates for the election should have been null and void.

On Monday, Yongyuth vowed to chair the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday as assigned by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is in the US. But the Deputy PM skipped the meeting and assigned Deputy PM Chalerm Yoobamrung to chair the Cabinet session instead. The meeting lasted only 45 minutes and did not consider the annual reshuffle of provincial governors as Yongyuth planned.

Critics said the expulsion order caused Yongyuth to be disqualified as a Cabinet member as well. If he had chaired a Cabinet meeting, any decisions it reached may have been at risk of being disqualified later.

Chief opposition whip and Democrat Party MP Jurin Laksanavisit said the opposition would submit a motion to Yingluck to question her about Yongyuth's case.

Jurin said the opposition would like the prime minister to explain what the government would do next about Yongyuth now the Civil Service Committee had decided to expel him, as sought by the NACC.

Jurin said if the prime minister failed to come up with a clear explanation, opposition MPs would seek a Constitution Court ruling on Yongyuth's qualifications as an MP and Cabinet member.

Appointed Senator Wanchai Sonsiri said Yongyuth should immediately resign as deputy prime minister and interior minister following the expulsion order. He said the Exoneration Act could not automatically clear Yongyuth of the expulsion so he could no longer hold positions in the Cabinet.

-- The Nation 2012-09-26

[asiawatcher]

The head is spinning from all the info in this article, he's in, he won't resign, red shirts are going to present him with his resignation letter (wow!!!), the NACC are going to hand their ruling to the PM for her to get rid of him - I mean - dam_n guys, guilty as charged, Exoneration Act out, toss the tosser out on his ear, strike a deal and return the golf course to the Wat, and have them profit share a 99 year lease. How hard can that be without all the huge amount of time, expense et al. He's just another crim in the Govt (like many others). Have a good day all

Edited September 26, 2012 by asiawatcher

[KireB]

Wow the reds are planning a noble act of following him around and make him sign a resignation letter. I hope they will print out another batch for the other corrupt scumbags! I am afraid this is a splinter group and not a mainstream red cell!

[animatic]

He is totally connected and this was a huge favor for the boss.

Hard to believe that he can just be booted by legal process....

So they send it to the bosses sister,,, hmmmm

and then back to the constitution court.

Round and round the Mulberry bush...

Except there is no monkey, just weasels.

[fareastguy]

A step too far.. even the reds want him out!!

Jump or be pushed is now the question we are all waiting for.

[Buchholz]

He could just dust off the Resignation Letter he resigned with earlier.

.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Buchholz

[SICHONSTEVE]

The head is spinning from all the info in this article, he's in, he won't resign, red shirts are going to present him with his resignation letter (wow!!!), the NACC are going to hand their ruling to the PM for her to get rid of him - I mean - dam_n guys, guilty as charged, Exoneration Act out, toss the tosser out on his ear, strike a deal and return the golf course to the Wat, and have them profit share a 99 year lease. How hard can that be without all the huge amount of time, expense et al. He's just another crim in the Govt (like many others). Have a good day all

The wolves are salivating!!!!!

Its feeding time soon!!!.

Edited September 26, 2012 by SICHONSTEVE

[webfact]

Yongyuth's political post to be examined

BANGKOK, Sept 26 – Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) was formally requested today to check the parliamentary qualifications of Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit after a decision by the Civil Service Committee (CSC) to dismiss him from the civil service for illegally endorsing the sale of monastic land to private real estate and golf club companies.

Submitting a letter to the EC on Mr Yongyuth’s behalf, Prompong Nopparit, spokesman of the ruling Pheu Thai party, said the request was to quell doubts among the opposition bloc and the public over the allegation.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) earlier ruled that Mr Yongyuth, concurrently interior minister, is not covered by exoneration as he has yet to serve the term of his punishment for illegally endorsing the sale of land owned by Wat Thammikaram to Alpine Real Estate Co and the Alpine Golf & Sports Club Co while assuming the position of deputy permanent secretary for interior.

The Interior Ministry’s CSC, in dismissing Mr Yongyuth from the civil service, announced that the order was retroactively in effect from Sept 30, 2002. There have since been arguments on whether or not Mr Yongyuth can retain his political post.

Meanwhile, Government House officials distributed a letter of clarification on the case from Mr Yongyuth to the media today. The letter insisted that the deputy premier is eligible for exoneration. (MCOT online news)

-- NNT 2012-09-26

[Buchholz]

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) earlier ruled that Mr Yongyuth, concurrently interior minister, is not covered by exoneration as he has yet to serve the term of his punishment

I seem to recall a similar situation where Yongyuth's party was pushing for a pardon for someone even though he was not eligible for a pardon because "he has yet to serve the term of his punishment".... hmmm...

,

[Nickymaster]

Can somebody please explain to me why they keep stealing from their people despite they always preach how much they love their country and their people

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Well done PT.

(just throw in some more populist policies to divert attention).