The Supreme Court ordered the removal of Kongkiat Ketsombat of the Kla Tham Party from the list of candidates for MP in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 7th district, following a theft conviction 20 years ago.
On 5 Feb 2026 at 13:00 GMT+7, at the Election Commission office, it was reported that the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of Kongkiat Ketsombat, candidate for MP in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 7th district from the Kla Tham Party, against the Election Commission’s decision to withdraw his candidacy. The commission found that Kongkiat was disqualified from running for MP under Section 98 (10) of the Constitution, read with Section 42 (12) of the Organic Act on the Election of MPs.
The court reasoned that after the Election Commission received complaints from eligible voters, it investigated Kongkiat’s disqualifying offenses. Records from the Surat Thani City Police showed a criminal case No. 1462/1999 against Kongkiat for nighttime theft. Kongkiat was the sole offender, was charged, and the case was forwarded to the Surat Thani Provincial Prosecutor. Subsequently, the Surat Thani Provincial Court issued a final judgment, case No. 3673/1999, finding him guilty under Penal Code Section 335(1), sentencing him to six months in prison and a 1,500 baht fine. The prison term was suspended for two years with probation, requiring him to report to a probation officer every three months for one year. Kongkiat completed all probation conditions and is no longer under supervision.
Upon reviewing Kongkiat’s MP application, ID copy, and property documents submitted to the election director for Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 7th district, the details matched those of the defendant in criminal case No. 3672/1999. Kongkiat also admitted he gave statements to the provincial Election Rights Committee acknowledging he was defendant No. 1 along with defendants No. 2 and 3 in the criminal case. Although Kongkiat claimed that Surat Thani courts and prosecutors could not confirm his identity as the defendant since documents had been destroyed by fire, the court found that police, court, and probation office records consistently identified him. Therefore, his claim that he was never finally convicted of property crimes by fraud was rejected.
Kongkiat argued that probation department records pertained to a firearms offense for which he completed probation. However, the probation department is a central agency and may have incomplete records, not fully reflecting provincial probation offices nationwide.
Since the criminal case No. 3673/1999 was over 20 years old, some records may be incomplete. Thus, the probation department’s data does not conflict with that of the Surat Thani Provincial Probation Office. Regarding Kongkiat’s claim that the court’s judgment punished only defendant No. 2, the court’s copy of the judgment clearly states on page 2 that Kongkiat (the defendant) was guilty solely under Penal Code Section 335 (1) for nighttime theft. No mention was made of other individuals. His evidence did not prove any accomplices.
Given the accepted facts that Kongkiat was finally convicted by the Surat Thani Provincial Court for theft in case No. 3673/1999, he is disqualified from running for MP. Therefore, the Election Commission’s decision to remove Kongkiat from the candidate list for Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 7th district, candidate number 3 of the Kla Tham Party, is lawful and proper.