Senator Accuses Pheu Thai Of Spreading Misinformation
A Thai senator accused Pheu Thai Party of spreading false information about a draft law on youth rehabilitation, arguing the government already has existing procedures for criminal record expungement while the party refuses to accept parlia
Senator Phisit Abhiwatthanapos accused the Pheu Thai Party of creating and spreading false information to deceive youth and damage institutions. He emphasized that the government already has rehabilitation plans and criminal record expungement procedures for youth. On July 10, 2025, at parliament, Senator Phisit addressed Nattapong Ruengpanya, Pheu Thai's list MP and party leader, alongside Sirikanya Tansukul, a list MP and deputy party leader, who issued a statement clarifying a Facebook post regarding the draft Peace-Building Society Enhancement Act.
Senator Phisit, directly addressed in the dispute, provided clarifications on the allegations, requesting that Pheu Thai stop distorting the bill's appendix and related senator disqualification cases. He stated that the appendix was barely modified, with only additions regarding violations of the Aviation Act of 1978 and 2015, unrelated to elections or senator disqualifications.
He criticized Pheu Thai for claiming the post was not fake news while displaying fake news behavior. He noted that while the party claims to uphold the parliamentary system, they refuse to accept parliament's majority vote approving the bill. He urged them to post-then-delete-then-deny strategy, stating that as the country's second-largest party enjoying public trust, they should not undermine that confidence. "If you're wrong, admit it clearly," Phisit said, "don't turn your party page into an IO page."
Regarding Nattapong, Phisit noted he often uses youth as a pretext while pushing Article 112 issues. The Senate added a clause to Article 11, paragraph two, stating the law does not grant amnesty in all Article 112-related cases. Phisit emphasized that youth rehabilitation processes for criminal cases already exist under the Juvenile and Family Court's authority.
Phisit clarified they don't intend to create new standards allowing certain ideologies to mislead uninformed youth. The Juvenile and Family Court already has assistance processes under Articles 90/1 and 132, applicable to all cases, not just Article 112 violations. If youth confess with a rehabilitation plan, they avoid imprisonment. Upon completing the plan, the court dismisses the case and the youth has no criminal record. The Senate does not want Article 11's amendment to conflate Article 112 defamation cases with political disputes, nor to create new standards misleading youth into thinking both issues are identical when they are fundamentally different.
