Former MP Wirat Sentenced to Four Years for Futsal Court Corruption
Supreme Court upholds conviction in 4.46 billion baht education budget fraud involving 18 provinces
- Former MP Wirat Rattanaset was sentenced by Thailand's Supreme Court to four years in prison without suspension for his role in a corruption scheme.
- The case involved the misappropriation of a 4.459 billion baht budget intended for the construction of futsal courts at schools across 18 provinces.
- Wirat was one of 87 defendants convicted in the scheme, though they retain the right to appeal the verdict.
Thailand's Supreme Court has sentenced former MP Wirat Rattanaset to four years in prison without suspension for his role in a massive corruption scheme involving the construction of futsal courts at schools across 18 provinces.
The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions delivered its verdict on Thursday in case number อม.17/2564, brought by the Attorney General against Wirat and 86 co-defendants.
Wirat, a former Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) list MP and former chairman of the government coalition coordination committee (government whip), was convicted of misappropriating 4.459 billion baht from the 2012 budget allocation for futsal court construction at schools.
The scheme targeted schools in educational zones across 18 provinces, including the Educational Service Area Zone 2 in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
The Supreme Court found Wirat guilty under Section 151 (former) of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Section 86, imposing the four-year prison sentence without suspension. However, Wirat and his co-defendants retain the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The case originated from a 2019 investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which found evidence of wrongdoing against multiple defendants including:
Wirat Rattanaset - former Pheu Thai Party MP at the time of the alleged offences
Thatsaneeya Rattanaset - Wirat's spouse and former Nakhon Ratchasima MP for PPRP
Thatsanaporn Gatemaetheekaroon - former mayor of Huai Thaleng subdistrict municipality in Nakhon Ratchasima and former PPRP MP for the province
21 other co-defendants
The initial charges focused on budget misappropriation for futsal court construction at schools under Educational Service Area Zone 2 in Nakhon Ratchasima, overseen by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC).
On 17 December 2019, the NACC expanded its findings to include criminal and disciplinary charges against Wirat and associates covering six additional educational zones in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
The expanded investigation implicated the brother of a prominent former MP from Nakhon Ratchasima as an additional defendant, along with:
- Civil servants from relevant educational service area offices in Nakhon Ratchasima
- School directors
- Private sector individuals involved in the scheme
The corruption case represents one of Thailand's largest education budget fraud schemes, spanning 18 provinces and involving billions of baht intended for school infrastructure development.
The Supreme Court's verdict marks a significant conclusion to a case that has taken several years to progress through Thailand's judicial system, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat corruption in public infrastructure projects.
The defendants' right to appeal means the case may continue through higher judicial channels, though the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders represents one of Thailand's highest judicial authorities for such cases.
