Ex Pathum Thani PAO official faces warrant after court no-show

The Saraburi Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct issued an arrest warrant for a former Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) official who failed to attend a court session regarding a corruption case. The court has rescheduled the hearing for October 24.

Yesterday, September 17, the Saraburi Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct was set to deliver a verdict in a case filed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against Charn Puangpet, former president of the Pathum Thani PAO, and six other defendants.

The case, registered under number อท5/67, involves allegations of corruption related to the procurement of relief bags during the 2011 flood crisis in Pathum Thani, with a value amounting to several million baht.

All defendants appeared in court except Decha Puangngam, a former Pathum Thani PAO official and the third defendant. Decha submitted a request for a postponement, citing health issues that prevented him from attending the court session.

However, after reviewing the circumstances, the court deemed that Decha’s illness was not severe enough to justify his absence. Believing that Decha intentionally avoided the court appearance, the judge issued an arrest warrant for him and imposed the full penalty on his bail guarantor as per the agreement, reported KhaoSod.

Due to Decha’s absence, the court was unable to proceed with reading the verdict. Consequently, the hearing has been rescheduled for October 24 at 9am.

In related news, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders sentenced Somying Buabut, a former Pheu Thai MP, to three years and four months in prison and fined her 100,000 baht for corruption related to the construction of a futsal field. The sentence has been suspended for three years.

On September 5, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on case number AM.18/2565 against Somying Buabut along with 11 other individuals. The charges stem from the fraudulent allocation of budgetary funds during the 2012 fiscal year to the Office of the Educational Service Area in Amnat Charoen province.