Scrap death penalty for graft, NACC urges
A death penalty provision for people accused of graft should be dropped because it is hampering efforts in corruption probes, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) chief told a seminar yesterday.
The proposal was floated during a seminar to gather opinions about a draft organic law on corruption being drafted by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC). It would replace the current anti-graft law.
Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnrajakit, head of the NACC, said the capital punishment provision was stopping the office from receiving the cooperation and information it needed. “European countries do not cooperate because of the death penalty provision. Without cooperation, it’s hard to gather evidence to prove alleged wrongdoing,” he said.
The NACC’s handling of transnational graft cases including the Rolls-Royce scandal involving two major state enterprises — Thai Airways International and PTT Plc — hit a major snag earlier due to the death penalty which exists in Thai laws.
Authorities reportedly were not getting information from various places such as the United Kingdom, which considers capital punishment a defiance of human rights principles.
Pol Gen Watcharapol also suggested that the NACC exercise some flexibility in examining assets and liabilities of senior state officials. The current law demands the graft busters examine the assets and debts submitted by all senior government officials, which is a time-consuming process.
According to the NACC chairman, the commission should be allowed to target “high-risk” groups of state officials. However, he said the examination of assets held by political office holders should remain unchanged.
Deputy Attorney-General Winai Damrongmongkolkul proposed that the organic law require the NACC to gather more evidence if the prosecution insists on it.
Several corruption cases have dragged on because of differences in opinions between the NACC and the prosecution, he said. If the attorney-general rules that there is insufficient evidence and further investigation is needed in a case, the NACC should do as requested, he added.
Mr Winai also voiced opposition to a proposal giving authority to the NACC to appeal a court ruling, saying it was not in line with criminal procedure laws.
“The Office of Attorney-General should continue to have the final say on whether to appeal a ruling in general criminal cases. If there are concerns about transparency, the prosecution’s decision to appeal or not can be examined,” he said.