People’s Party to probe Rayong MP’s claim of bribery for vote of confidence

The People’s Party will investigate a Rayong MP's claim he was bribed to vote for the PM.

The opposition People’s Party has vowed to investigate a claim made by Rayong MP, Krit Silapachai, that he was approached with an offer of money in exchange for voting in favour of the Prime Minister during a vote of confidence.

Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn Responds to the Allegation

Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, Deputy Leader of the People’s Party, stated that he could not comment in detail on the issue at this stage, as he had not yet had a chance to speak with Krit. Lakkhanaadisorn emphasised that the matter was sensitive, and he believed there was an attempt to persuade Krit to break ranks with the opposition, referencing screenshots of Line conversations allegedly related to the efforts.“We must verify the facts before jumping to conclusions based on speculation. Discussing the details now could lead to baseless allegations,” said Wiroj.

He also clarified that he was not accusing anyone specifically before the investigation was complete. “We need to understand the motive behind this. Was it an attempt to create a distraction or political turmoil, or was it a genuine attempt to buy votes from opposition MPs? We must have thorough discussions before making accusations against any political party,” he added.Prime Minister Responds to the Allegations

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who secured 319 votes in her support during the censure vote, dismissed any need for purchasing support from opposition MPs. She pointed out that the coalition government already held a majority in the House of Representatives.

Paetongtarn and Wiroj were referring to a Facebook post by Krit made on Wednesday night at 9:21 pm, in which the Rayong MP claimed that he was offered money to break ranks with the opposition and support the Prime Minister.

In his post, Krit titled the message: "When I was offered to become a cobra [betrayer] before the vote of no-confidence."

Krit Silapachai Details the Alleged Bribery Attempt

Krit's post included screenshots of Line conversations, which he alleged were between him and a person identified as Mr A. According to Krit, Mr A offered him money on behalf of an executive from a small, little-known political party. This unnamed party reportedly had no MPs in the House and was about to be dissolved for failing to meet membership requirements.

The screenshots purportedly revealed that the party executive offered 15 million baht to any opposition MP who voted for the Prime Minister. Furthermore, if a defector MP were expelled from their current party, they would reportedly receive an additional 5 million baht. If up to 10 MPs switched sides, each would receive a monthly salary of 250,000 baht, along with political positions once accepted by the unnamed party.

Krit’s post also displayed a response from Mr A, which appeared to show that Krit rejected the offer.

The Details of the Alleged Bribery Offer

Krit's post included a screenshot of a conversation between him and Mr A. The exchange began with Mr A asking if Krit was available for a phone call, to which Krit replied he was in a House meeting. Mr A then mentioned he had something important to discuss. The screenshots later revealed a message from Krit requesting Mr A to provide the phone number of the person who had contacted him, which Mr A then sent, saying it belonged to a woman.

Krit explained that he received a call from Mr A at 7 pm on Tuesday, during which Mr A allegedly told him that someone wanted to offer Krit 10 million baht for voting for Paetongtarn. Krit mentioned that he asked Mr A to have the person contact him directly. A phone call came through at 9 pm, but Krit did not answer as he was monitoring the censure debate.

The following day, Krit claimed Mr A called again, increasing the offer to 15 million baht. At 6 am on Wednesday, Krit received another message stating that the offer had been raised to 20 million baht, along with a monthly salary of 250,000 baht, if he could convince nine other opposition MPs to vote for the Prime Minister.

Krit stated he chose to expose the incident on Wednesday night to highlight the continued existence of such "dirty tactics" in Thai politics.

(2025/03/27-00:00)