Saranwut Saranget sentenced to 8 months for proxy voting

Thairath•Politics•8h ago

Reader Briefing

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions sentenced former Pheu Thai MP Saranwut Saranget to 8 months in prison for proxy voting.

•Saranwut Saranget was sentenced to 8 months in prison for allowing another MP to use his electronic voting card.
•The incident occurred during a special House of Representatives meeting on September 20, 2013.
•The court granted Saranwut Saranget temporary release pending an appeal on September 16, 2026.

Overview

•On September 14, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions delivered its verdict in case number Om 14/2025.
•On September 20, 2013, the House of Representatives held a special meeting to consider a draft Act empowering the Ministry of Finance to borrow money for transport infrastructure development.
•Saranwut Saranget traveled to Sukhothai Province and left his electronic identification card with another MP to vote on his behalf.
•The court found that Saranwut Saranget's actions constituted a fraudulent distortion of voting and a breach of the 2007 Constitution and the 2008 House of Representatives Meeting Regulations.
•The court ruled that the behavior caused serious damage and undermined public confidence in the legislative body.
•The court initially sentenced Saranwut Saranget to 1 year in prison, but reduced the term by one-third to 8 months because the defendant's admission during the evidence examination was useful to the trial.
•Saranwut Saranget filed a request for temporary release, which the court granted during the appeal process on September 16, 2026.

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Key Entities

Person

Saranwut Saranget(ศรัณย์วุฒิ ศรัณย์เกตุ)

A former Pheu Thai MP sentenced to 8 months in prison for proxy voting.

Organization

Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions(ศาลฎีกาแผนกคดีอาญาของผู้ดำรงตำแหน่งทางการเมือง)

The court that presided over and delivered the verdict in the case against Saranwut Saranget.

Pheu Thai(เพื่อไทย)ℹ️

The political party Saranwut Saranget was associated with while serving as an MP.

House of Representatives(สภาผู้แทนราษฎร)ℹ️

The legislative body where the proxy voting incident occurred on September 20, 2013.

Attorney General(อัยการสูงสุด)ℹ️

The entity that filed the lawsuit against Saranwut Saranget.

NACC(คณะกรรมการ ป.ป.ช.)

The commission whose investigation file was used by the court to consider evidence.

Place

Sukhothai Province(จังหวัดสุโขทัย)ℹ️

The location Saranwut Saranget traveled to instead of attending the parliamentary meeting.

Law

Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand 2007(รัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย พุทธศักราช 2550)

The constitution which the court ruled the proxy voting violated.

House of Representatives Meeting Regulations 2008(ข้อบังคับการประชุมสภาผู้แทนราษฎร พ.ศ. 2551)

The meeting regulations violated by the defendant's actions.

Organic Act on Prevention and Suppression of Corruption 1999(พ.ร.ป.ว่าด้วยการป้องกันและปราบปรามการทุจริต พ.ศ. 2542)

The law under which Saranwut Saranget was found guilty of misconduct and corruption in office.

Organic Act on Prevention and Suppression of Corruption 2018(พ.ร.ป.ว่าด้วยการป้องกันและปราบปรามการทุจริต พ.ศ. 2561)

A law cited in the request for punishment regarding the defendant's actions.

Criminal Code(ประมวลกฎหมายอาญา)ℹ️

The code used to reduce the defendant's sentence due to mitigating factors.