Former Move Forward MP for Rayong province, Nakornchai Khunnarong, was sentenced by the Rayong Provincial Court to one year in prison without suspension today after it found him guilty of standing in the 2023 election while knowing that he was disqualified from doing so.
The court also banned him from voting for 20 years. On March 27, the defendant changed his plea to guilty.
The court said that Nakornchai had been convicted of theft and sentenced to eighteen months in prison by the Chon Buri Provincial Court in 2015. This conviction disqualified him from standing for election in accordance with the Election Act.
Initially, the court sentenced him to two years in prison, but commuted the sentence to one year following his guilty plea.
Nakornchai served as an MP representing Constituency 3 of Rayong province between May 14 and August 3, 2023, during which he continued to receive his monthly salary and other benefits, estimated to total about 400,000 baht. He was ordered to return the money to the state.
In March, the Civil Court ordered the defendant to pay compensation amounting to 8 million baht to cover the expense of holding a by-election.
The former MP was released on bail set at about 100,000 baht.
