Senator loses seats and political rights banned after false claim ruling

The Supreme Court has ordered the revocation of voting and candidacy rights for ten years for Senator Wichien Chaisathaporn, ruling that he provided false information during his bid for the Senate.

The Supreme Court’s Election Cases Division handed down the decision on January 9, following a petition filed by the Election Commission (EC) against Wichien.

The court found that Wichien falsely claimed in his candidate profile that he was an “energy conservation expert at the Ministry of Industry,” despite never having been formally appointed to such a position by any agency under the ministry.

According to the court, this misrepresentation constituted deception intended to induce or influence voters.

The EC’s investigation showed that Wichien applied to run for the Senate in Group 16, which includes candidates from fields such as arts, culture, music, performance, entertainment, sports and related professions.

In his application, he cited the disputed work experience to bolster his qualifications, the EC said.

The Ministry of Industry later informed the EC that Wichien had not been appointed as an energy conservation expert as claimed.

The court ruled that such information would reasonably lead readers of the candidate profile to believe that he had officially held the position, thereby misleading voters about his qualifications, expertise and professional standing.

The court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to believe Wichien knowingly provided false information or induced misunderstanding in a manner that compromised the integrity and fairness of the Senate selection process.

This conduct was deemed a violation of Section 62 of the law governing the acquisition of senators.