The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has found former Chanthaburi MP Thanapat Kittiwongsa of the Palang Pracharath Party guilty of holding land within the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in Chanthaburi Province without legal qualifications and is preparing to submit the case to the Supreme Court for further ruling.
On 21 January 2026, Mr. Surapong Intarathaworn, Secretary-General of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), announced that the NACC resolved to find former MP Thanapat Kittiwongsa, who represented Chanthaburi for the Palang Pracharath Party, guilty of holding three land plots totaling 94 rai within the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in Chanthaburi Province without legal entitlement. Investigation revealed that in 2014, Thanapat purchased three land plots in Patong and Thap Chang subdistricts, Soi Dao district, totaling 94 rai from previous holders. The land lies within the wildlife sanctuary and was used for longan orchards and residential construction. After Thanapat was elected MP for Chanthaburi on 24 March 2019, he continued to possess and utilize the land and declared the three plots as spousal assets in his asset disclosure.
Later, a local land possession survey team inspected land holdings in the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary on 11 May 2020. Thanapat had his son represent him as the occupant, despite knowing that neither he, his spouse, nor his son were authorized to reside or cultivate the land since they were neither original holders nor heirs. Moreover, the land could not be legally sold and they did not qualify as impoverished persons without land as defined by the National Council for Peace and Order Order No. 66/2014. Thanapat's actions as an MP holding state land within a conservation forest constitute misconduct, seeking improper benefits for himself or others, damaging the dignity of his office, and breaching serious ethical standards. The NACC will submit the case to the Supreme Court for adjudication under Section 87 of the Organic Act on Anti-Corruption B.E. 2561 (2018).