The shadow of Tuhao
Right on cue, activist Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, went to the Election Commission on Dec 6 to file a petition calling on the poll regulator to seek the dissolution of two major parties in connection with the high-profile Chinese criminal syndicate allegedly run by businessman and suspected crime boss Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant.
Although he did not release the names of the parties in question to the press, Mr Srisuwan is understood to be targeting the ruling Palang Pracharath Party and the main opposition Pheu Thai Party.
Mr Srisuwan cited the organic law on political parties as the basis for pursuing his action. He alleged they violated the organic law, Section 45 of which bars any party or political post holder from abetting or supporting others engaging in acts that endanger public peace and moral integrity.
He alleged that Mr Chaiyanat committed a slew of felonies, from illicit drugs to running illegal entertainment venues. The syndicate has implicated politicians, past and present, and political parties.
“It falls within the power of the EC, as a law enforcement agency under the organic law, to get to the bottom of the scandal. Any culprits, be they politicians or political post holders, or even political parties, must face the music,” he said.
On receiving the petition from him, the EC is bound by duty to gather evidence. If it finds grounds for the allegation against any individuals or parties, it must recommend their indictment in the Constitutional Court.
A guilty ruling would lead to a political party being dissolved and political postholders being banned from politics for a lengthy period.
In October, Mr Srisuwan petitioned the EC to probe the PPRP after its chief strategist Somsak Thepsutin, who is also the justice minister, admitted the ruling party accepted a 3-million-baht donation from Mr Chaiyanat last year.
Also, the “Tuhao connection” has landed Pheu Thai in hot water. The main opposition party and the SC Asset Corporation have dismissed any suggestion they befriended the Chiayanat syndicate and were linked to it. They insisted enemies were trying to ruin the reputation of the party and the company.
SC Asset this week said the company’s transactions are carried out in a transparent manner and in line with the principles of good governance. The company also noted that it could only sell houses in its projects to Thai citizens and legal entities.
Its statement stressed that house purchases must be paid via bank transfers, following claims that the syndicate and its nominees had bought a number of properties in cash.
The company’s shareholders also have nothing to do with the sale of houses to the crime syndicate, the firm said.
Meanwhile, the deputy chairman of Pheu Thai’s strategic committee, Noppadon Pattama, said ill-intentioned people are trying to link Pheu Thai to Mr Chaiyanat’s syndicate to ruin its reputation.
Pheu Thai has nothing to do with Mr Chaiyanat, Mr Noppadon said, noting efforts to link the purchase of houses developed by SC Asset and Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who holds shares in the company, are politically motivated.
A police probe found that many houses owned by the nominee of the Chinese criminal syndicate tied to Mr Chaiyanat were developed by SET-listed developer SC Asset Corporation, which counts members of the Shinawatra family as its shareholders, according to a source.
According to SET filings, Ms Paetongtarn, head of Pheu Thai’s inclusion and innovation advisory panel and youngest daughter of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is the largest shareholder in SC Asset, holding 28.82% of the company’s shares, followed by elder sister Pintongta Shinawatra Kunakornwong, with 27.89%.
Khunying Potjaman Damapong, former wife of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, meanwhile, is the fourth-largest shareholder with 2.78% of the shares.
Ruengkrai Leekitwattana, a former member of the PPRP, petitioned the National AntiCorruption Commission to look at whether Sarawuth Phetphanomporn, a Pheu Thai MP for Udon Thani, declared his wife Nudeeporn’s assets when he took office in May 2019.
Citing reports from Isara News Agency, Mr Ruengkrai said Ms Nudeeporn, the daughter of former deputy prime minister Pol Gen Pracha Promnok in the Yingluck Shinawatra administration, is the second-largest shareholder in a property rental company in Phuket, of which Mr Chaiyanatis the largest shareholder.
The investigation followed a raid on the Jinling Pub in Yannawa district on Oct 26, where 99 Chinese nationals were found to be under the influence of drugs.
The Tuhao scandal erupted at a time when political parties are gearing up for next year’s election. A deepening police investigation looks set to overshadow the campaigning of parties at the centre of what could degenerate into a political storm, according to an observer.
A dissolution of either or both of the two major parties could spell tremendous uncertainty over the next poll, set tentatively for May 7 next year.
It would be a nightmare for candidates as they might not have enough time, while it might not even be legally permissible for them to switch and contest under other parties’ banners.
But if Pheu Thai were to go under and is unable to resurface in time, a sizeable number of its voters might opt to cast their ballots for the Move Forward Party (MFP), the only large-party ally in the so-called prodemocracy bloc.
The MFP would leverage the windfall to its advantage as its bargaining power would grow after the next poll, the observer said.