Bhumjaithai MP Ekkarat Changlao was sentenced by Khon Kaen Provincial Court today to 12 years and nine months in prison, after being found guilty of embezzlement and falsifying official documents in connection with the savings of Khon Kaen teacher’s cooperatives.
Ekkarat, an MP representing Constituency 4 of Khon Kaen province, was accused of embezzling about 405 million baht from the savings accounts of the cooperatives. He has, however, returned about 100.5 million baht in four instalments since 2022.
The court, initially, sentenced him to 15 years, after finding him guilty on five counts of embezzlement, and 63 months on 21 counts of falsifying documents, but the sentences were commuted by half to due to his guilty plea.
After the reading of the verdict, the MP was immediately taken to the court’s detention cells, pending a bail application. He was later released after posting bail in the amount of 3 million baht.
Responding to the verdict, Bhumjaithai Spokesperson Nan Boonthida Somchai said that Ekkarat had ceased participating in the party’s activities last September and has since joined the Kla Dham party, although he has not officially resigned from Bhumjaithai.
She said that the party respects the court’s verdict and does not support corruption.
