Supreme Court jails Saranwut 8 months for proxy voting

Post Today•Politics•2h ago

Reader Briefing

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions sentenced former MP Saranwut Saranket to 8 months in prison for allowing others to vote on his behalf.

•Saranwut Saranket, a former MP for Uttaradit province from the Pheu Thai Party, was sentenced to 8 months in prison without suspension.
•The offense occurred during a special House of Representatives meeting on September 20, 2013, while Saranwut Saranket was in Sukhothai province.
•The court reduced the sentence from 1 year to 8 months because the defendant's testimony during the evidence examination was useful to the trial.
•The court granted Saranwut Saranket bail pending the deliberation of an appeal.

Overview

•On September 14, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a judgment regarding the proxy voting case involving Saranwut Saranket.
•The incident took place on September 20, 2013, during a special House of Representatives meeting to consider a bill empowering the Ministry of Finance to borrow funds for transport infrastructure development.
•Saranwut Saranket allowed other MPs to use his electronic identification card to register and vote while Saranwut Saranket was away in Sukhothai province.
•The court found that the continuous use of the card throughout the day could not have happened without the consent or information provided by Saranwut Saranket.
•The court ruled that allowing proxy voting is a wrongful and corrupt exercise of duty that causes serious damage to the legislative process and undermines public confidence.
•Saranwut Saranket was sentenced to 8 months in prison without suspension of the sentence.
•Saranwut Saranket applied for temporary release and was granted bail while the court considers the appeal.

Full article content is available on the original source.

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Source: Post Today (Original)

Key Entities

Person

Saranwut Saranket(ศรัณย์วุฒิ ศรัณย์เกตุ)

A former Member of Parliament for Uttaradit province from the Pheu Thai Party who was sentenced to prison for proxy voting.

Organization

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

The judicial body that presided over and sentenced Saranwut Saranket.

Pheu Thai Party(พรรคเพื่อไทย)ℹ️

The political party to which Saranwut Saranket belonged.

Attorney General(อัยการสูงสุด)ℹ️

The office that filed the charges against Saranwut Saranket.

Ministry of Finance(กระทรวงการคลัง)ℹ️

The ministry mentioned in the bill regarding borrowing for transport infrastructure development.

Place

Uttaradit(อุตรดิตถ์)ℹ️

The province for which Saranwut Saranket served as a Member of Parliament.

Sukhothai(สุโขทัย)

The province Saranwut Saranket traveled to during the House of Representatives meeting on September 20, 2013.

Law

Constitution 2007(รัฐธรรมนูญ พ.ศ. 2550)

The constitution which the proxy voting action was cited as violating.

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

The meeting regulations which the proxy voting action was cited as violating.