Democrat Party Will Not Shield Member If Assault Was Intentional
The Democrat Party says it will not shield MP Chai Chaya Detchadecho from discipline if he intentionally assaulted a police deputy in Nakhon Si Thammarat, though conflicting accounts from all three parties complicate the case.
At a Democrat Party meeting on August 14, party spokesman Pongsagorn Khuanmuang addressed the case of Chai Chaya Detchadecho, a party list MP and deputy southern regional head, who faces assault charges filed by a deputy commander of Thung Yai Police Station in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The party confirmed it will proceed while upholding police dignity and principles.
Pongsagorn noted that three parties involved have given conflicting accounts. The deputy commander filed the complaint four days after the incident without providing a prior statement, citing assault under Section 391 of the criminal code despite claiming no injuries were sustained. The police chief also gave varying statements across several interviews—first denying the incident occurred, then confirming it as a joke, then calling it intentional assault.
In contrast, Chai Chaya appeared before investigators and denied intentional harm. Pongsagorn highlighted that both the deputy commander and Chai Chaya later agreed the incident was merely joking around, and the deputy commander attended a funeral with Chai Chaya the next day, even posing for photos together. The core issue is whether Chai Chaya acted with intent to harm, not whether injuries occurred. The party appealed to the public to submit video evidence to clarify the facts, and pledged that if intent to assault is proven, it will take action against Chai Chaya including party discipline and ethics review.
