The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will appeal a court ruling ordering it to drop its claim that former Samut Prakan mayor Chonsawat Asavahame violated the state budget in hiring a garbage removal firm.
NACC chairman Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit said Monday he is working with prosecutors to keep the case alive after the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases dismissed the case last Wednesday.
In the case, Mr Chonsawat was accused of abusing his power and neglecting his duties when he awarded a five-year contract worth 128 million baht to the firm in 2003.
The same charges were also dropped against Baranee Lerpaisarn, a former clerk at the Samut Prakan municipal office.
The graft watchdog accused the two suspects of authorising a needless debt obligation for over a year in breach of an Interior Ministry regulation.
They allegedly went ahead and inked a deal that had not been green-lit by the Samut Prakan governor, the NACC said.
Mr Chonsawat and Ms Baranee denied the charges, saying their actions were not prohibited by regulations.
The conflict between the NACC and the defendants stemmed from different interpretations of the law, the court said, adding it could not base its decision on the NACC's accusation.
The son of fugitive veteran politician Vatana Asavaame, Mr Chonsawat has been accused of involvement in many alleged irregularities during his political career in Samut Prakan.
He faces another accusation in relation to a financial-aid deal worth 800 million baht to build a crematorium at a temple that he signed off on while serving as the chairman of the Samut Prakan Provincial Administrative Organisation.
Previously, he was found guilty of dereliction of duty in relation to vote-count fraud during municipal elections held there in 1999.
He was released from prison in September 2016 after having served a year behind bars.
