The Future Forward Party on Thursday cried foul over the arrest of its MP candidate contesting the general election in Trang, who was detained in Palian district for failing to show up in court back in 2016.
Yossawat Teeratwattanakul, who is running for a House seat in Trang's Constituency 3, was detained at the FFP's coordination centre in tambon Ban Na as he was about to hit the streets with his campaign staff.
The candidate was arrested on a warrant issued by the Phuket provincial court on Feb 11, 2016. The warrant was issued after Mr Yossawat failed to show up in court over a fraud lawsuit filed against him in 2015 by Jureeporn Jingjitr.
Pannika Wanich, a spokeswoman for the FFP, said the case against Mr Yossawat involved a financial dispute over loans, but it was settled three years ago when Mr Yossawat's business partner paid to settle the dispute in May 2016.
She claimed the candidate has proof that the dispute was settled and the plaintiff agreed to withdraw the lawsuit.
Mr Yossawat, however, was unaware the lawsuit had not been withdrawn. It was not clear who initiated the move to have him arrested.
She said she suspected the case was being used by his opponents to undermine his credibility.
"Because the case is used against Mr Yossawat as the campaign season nears its end, we believe his political opponents know about the warrant and used it against him," she said.
"It's a tactic to discredit the party."
However, she said the case would not lead to Mr Yossawat's disqualification from the race, and insisted he would continue campaigning as soon as he is released on bail.
Following the arrest, Jarungvith Phumma, secretary-general of the Election Commission (EC), said Mr Yossawat is still qualified to run in the polls because the case has not been finalised.
