Former movie star-turned-politician Krungsrivilai Suthinphuek was suspended from performing his duties as an MP today, by the Supreme Court for Election Cases, for alleged vote buying.

The Supreme Court issued the order, suspending the Palang Pracharat party MP for Samut Prakan province, after it agreed to accept for consideration an accusation from the Election Commission (EC) that a close aide of his made a 1,000 baht donation at a funeral, held at a temple in his constituency during the March 24^th general election campaign period.

The EC issued a Yellow Card to Mr. Krungsrivilai after it ruled that the donation was deemed to be an attempt at vote buying, intended to curry the favour of the relatives of the deceased.

The court has set December 25^th as the date for Mr. Krungsrivilai and EC officials to report to the court to examine the written evidence.

Mr. Krungsrivilai has seven days from the date he received the court’s notification to submit his rebuttal, evidence and list of witnesses. 

The court’s suspension order means that Palang Pracharat, the core party in the Government, which already has a slim majority in the House of Representatives, will have one less vote, which may prove critical.