Democrat MP Defends Party Amid Assault Case Against Aide
Democrat MP Chuan Leekphai defended his party after assault charges were filed against colleague Chaiyachon Detchdecho, a deputy regional head, over an alleged incident at a Nakhon Si Thammarat police station. Chuan said he is monitoring th
On August 14, 2025, Democrat party list MP Chuan Leekphai commented on assault charges filed against party colleague Chaiyachon Detchdecho, a list MP and deputy regional head overseeing the South. Chaiyachon faces charges over an alleged assault on a deputy director at Thung Yai Police Station in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Chuan said he is following the case but has not yet verified the facts, learning about it only from news reports. When asked whether the matter would affect the party, he deferred to party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva for comment, but stressed that everyone must be equal before the law.
When pressed on whether the incident could damage the party's southern support base, Chuan said he was uncertain. However, he argued that the real issue facing current politics is vote-buying, not this case. He revealed he has written to the Election Commission chairman noting that the previous election cost the most money in history as parties competed to secure parliamentary seats and form government, and that without winning, parties might resort to illegal tactics like undermining the Senate. Chuan said he received a thank-you response from the commission chairman but nothing from the secretary-general.
"We survived the last election because we ran a party-list campaign," Chuan explained. "If we had run in constituency races, we would have been less certain of victory. But because of the party-list system, we gained more MPs since other parties spend less on party-list candidates."
