Why should we pay for his crime?
Ex-MP Karun Hongsakul should pay the cost of the by-election that must be held because of his illegal acts. The Supreme Court found Karun guilty of making false accusations against and defaming his Democrat rival before the 2011 election in Don Muang. The
It’s all about accountability. If we pay for the by-election, we’d be telling the culprit: “It’s all right to defame your opponent. Insofar as you’ve harmed us, at least financially, we’ll cover the costs – so as far as we’re concerned, you can go ahead and do it again.”
But surely this is grossly unfair and unjust. We must not only punish such acts, but also impose punishment that will deter others from following suit while encouraging their parties to do a better job of selecting their standard-bearers.
So I propose that Karun not only pay for the Don Muang by-election, but also pay triple damages as well, as a deterrent, going into the public purse. In addition, the court should order that he reimburse his opponents for all their expenses in the election that he wasted (the same would apply, of course, to anybody else forced to vacate an elected post due to a criminal act).
As Gilbert and Sullivan said in “The Mikado”, “Let the punishment fit the crime.”
Burin Kantabutra
Bangkok
