ANN/THE NATION – Thailand’s Move Forward Party revealed that two of its Members of Parliament (MPs) were involved in sexual harassment charges and would be removed.
Bencha Saengchantra, who heads the party’s special working team on sexual violence, revealed on Tuesday that Prachinburi MP Wuttiphong Thonglour and Bangkok MP Sirin Sanguansin had both been found guilty of sexual assault.”
Bencha, a party-list MP, said that party officials would make a final decision with a severe penalty of expulsion from the party and loss of all rights.
She emphasised that Move Forward prioritises its core principle of non-violence and gender equality and is not concerned about its number of seats in Parliament dropping.
The progressive party currently holds 151 seats in the House of Representatives, after it expelled one MP for refusing to give up the post of deputy speaker.
Bencha also said that Move Forward does not tolerate a culture of concealing misconduct among its members.
The party has a clear set of criteria for determining punishment in such cases, she clarified.
Before arriving at a final decision on the case, she said the party will exercise caution to safeguard the interest of the victims.
“We will try not to let such an incident take place again,” she said.
On Monday, Wuttiphong, one of the accused MPs, took to social media to say: “Today, I’m no different from dead people who are still breathing”, adding that he was being unfairly condemned without being given the opportunity to defend himself.
