Court to hear house seizure case against ex-eminister

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) resolved in May that Somsak was disproportionately rich and had submitted a false asset declaration, in which he neglected to mention the Bt16-million house, which was constructed while he was the education minister.

During the NACC investigation, Somsak also reportedly failed to explain the source of the funds used to pay for building the house. 

The NACC had sought a decision from then Attorney-General Trakul Winitnaiyapak to indict Somsak on September 11. The panel of nine judges ruled that the case comes under the jurisdiction of the court.

The court has scheduled the first hearing on January 20 next year. The defendant and the owner of the house must submit their defence testimonies within 30 days.

Supreme Court vice president Chatchai Akarawiboon will be the presiding judge in the case.

Sources said the NACC, since May 6, 1997, had found that Somsak had Bt28 million in cash in 21 bank accounts and had failed to declare these assets in his report to the NACC. The cash was deposited under other people’s names.

The NACC brought criminal charges against Somsak for submitting a false asset declaration with the same court that found him guilty of the charges on May 4, 2011.

The court sentenced him to six years in jail and a Bt10,000 fine. The jail sentence was suspended for three years on the grounds that he had not been jailed before. The court also issued him with a five-year political ban.

Meanwhile, the NACC is planning to have juristic bodies that offer bribes to state officials fined at twice the amount of benefits they receive and also face up to five years in jail, NACC member Pakdee Pothisiri said yesterday.

The NACC will take recourse to Article 123/5 of the amendment to the Organic Law on Corruption Prevention and Suppression Act 2015, which stipulates that legal bodies whose executives or staff offer bribes to state officials will face a fine of up to twice the damage or benefits derived from the bribes.

He said the private sector was well aware of this new law. The Thai Institutes of Directors (IOD) last week widely discussed this law and its impact.

The NACC has set up a subcommittee to lay down guidelines on how to effectively enforce the law.

NACC sources said the agency had consulted with representatives from the private sector such as the IOD, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Bank of Thailand about guidelines on enforcing the new law. The NACC would meet with concerned parties next month and draft an NACC announcement on the fine in December.

The new law is expected to curb corruption, as the private sector will be forced to set up measures to prevent their employees from paying bribes to state officials – Thai or foreign.