FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Assembly calls for speedy corruption verdicts

Assembly calls for speedy corruption verdicts

IF THE country hopes for anti-corruption reform, prosecutions in graft cases must be speeded up and accompanied by more severe penalties, members of the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) declared during a meeting at Parliament yesterday.

NRSA member Wanchai Sornsiri said prosecutions had to be expedited so a number of corruption cases can finally be settled. To ward off wrongdoers, severe penalties must also be handed down and statutes of limitations removed so that corruption cases can be prosecuted without time limitations, he added. 
Wanchai said political problems should be addressed along with corruption if reformers wanted to see the problem resolved.
Another NRSA member, Kamnoon Sidhisamarn, agreed with the removal of the statutes of limitations. He said the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders should be solely responsible for taking care of corruption by political office holders, without any court appeals provided.
Seri Suwanpanon, chairman of the NRSA’s political reform committee, agreed that penalties for corruption must be severe and take immediate effect without jail term suspensions. 
However, he said the current anti-graft laws had no role for informants. This was viewed as critical as graft was usually performed in secret and informants were crucial to exposing cases. Related laws needed to be reviewed and amended if necessary, he concluded.
Another NRSA member, Thawinwadee Bureekul, suggested more participation from the public so they could help scrutinise corruption cases. She also stressed the need to strengthen and revamp the justice process as well as political ethics. 
The NRSA members’ recommendations were in line with the review and study done by the now-defunct National Reform Council (NRC), which developed a reform plan for 37 agendas, including anti-corruption reform. One of its principal strategies was corruption suppression, which was strongly linked to a rapid justice process.
The NRSA is continuing to discuss 11 principal reform agendas, plus some special ones, including corruption. It will then come up with concrete work plans toward reform within a month.
Meanwhile, the NRSA spokesperson team will announce the official establishment of an NRSA whip, who will coordinate with the other two bodies of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the Cabinet today.
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