Natthaphong awaits order as NACC files 44-MP 112 amendment case
NACC sent the 44-MP Section 112 case to the Supreme Court as Natthaphong said the former Move Forward MPs remained undeterred and expected a court order after Songkran.
- The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has officially submitted a case to the Supreme Court against 44 former Move Forward Party MPs.
- The case alleges serious ethical violations related to the MPs' 2021 attempt to introduce a bill to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code (the lèse-majesté law).
- People's Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, one of the 44 MPs involved, is awaiting the court's order, which he expects will come after the Songkran festival.
- Natthaphong stated that despite the legal proceedings, the morale of the accused MPs remains high and they are focused on their parliamentary duties.
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, a party-list MP, leader of the People’s Party and one of its prime ministerial candidates, urged the public to follow the government policy debate themselves at Parliament on April 9.
He said the joint sitting would continue until 2am on April 10 and resume until 11pm later that day.
The People’s Party had prepared 20 MPs to speak on a wide range of issues, including people’s hardship, the PM2.5 crisis and energy problems, and he said the presentations would be intense without overlapping.
Natthaphong said cooperation among opposition parties was proceeding as usual, with speaking time divided among them, while each party prepared its own material rather than combining content in the way parties do ahead of a no-confidence debate.
On the case involving 44 former Move Forward MPs over the proposed amendment to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, he said that if the process was not expedited, any court order would likely come only after Songkran.
He said the party’s MPs remained fully focused on their parliamentary duties, were not underestimating the situation, and believed the case was being closely watched by the public.
At the Supreme Court in Sanam Luang on the same day, officials from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) arrived in three vans carrying multiple boxes of case files for the court to consider alleged serious ethical violations in connection with the Section 112 amendment move.
At 9.15am, court police and court officials used trolleys to move the files from the vans into the court building, while NACC and court staff checked the documents closely.
The process took about half an hour before NACC officials went inside.
The case dates back to 2021, when Pita Limjaroenrat, then leader of the Move Forward Party, led 44 party MPs in submitting a package of five draft bills aimed at protecting freedom of expression and people’s rights in the justice process, including a bill to amend Section 112, to the president of Parliament.
Of the 44 named in the petition, 10 are now People’s Party MPs in the current House: eight party-list MPs, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, Sirikanya Tansakun, Rangsiman Rome, Wayo Assawarungruang, Pakornwut Udompipatskul, Nattawut Buaprathum, Surachet Pravinvongvuth and Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, and two Bangkok constituency MPs, Teerajchai Phunthumas and Taopiphop Limjittrakorn.
Addressing the mood inside the party after Taopiphop said this might be his last debate, Natthaphong said discussions had continued throughout, including with key figures such as Teerajchai Phunthumas, Surachet Pravinvongvuth and Sirikanya Tansakun.
He said none of the 44 MPs had lost morale and all were ready to carry out their duties fully.
Natthaphong added: “Whatever lies ahead, even if we face a political setback, we will keep working in politics to bring change for the people.”
He also said the party was still required under its regulations to hold a general meeting within April, regardless of whether the court issued any order or whether there was any change to the executive structure.
