Parit Exposes Line Chats Challenging Sornsart's Explanations on Senate Election

Mr. Parit has released a series of Line chat logs and financial transaction records to counter public statements made by Senator Sornsart. While acknowledging that Sornsart's previous interviews were a step toward addressing allegations, Parit argued that the explanations contain significant loopholes and directly contradict newly obtained evidence, breaking down his concerns into three main areas ranging from minor to severe.

The first issue involves a total of 550,000 baht transferred from two banks to Ms. Pannipa. Sornsart previously explained that these transactions were unrelated to the Senate election, describing them as general operational funds for 2024 covering utility bills and car repairs before candidate registration opened in May. However, Parit pointed out that this explanation fails to clarify the unusually high amount, especially given evidence showing 105,000 baht of that sum was subsequently transferred by Ms. Pannipa to seven Senate candidate accounts.

The second issue highlights inconsistencies regarding Sornsart's familiarity with the seven Senate candidates who received funds. On July 26, 2024, Sornsart told BBC reporters that he did not know any of the seven candidates displayed on the opposition screen, except for Mr. Sananchai Chueudomthanakit whom he met later during the application process. Yet, on July 30, Sornsart stated in a television program that he knew three of the candidates on his team while remaining unfamiliar with the other four. Parit questioned how the public could trust statements that shifted within just a four-day window.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

The third and most critical issue concerns the relationship between Sornsart and Ms. Pannipa during and after the Senate election. Although Sornsart acknowledged that Ms. Pannipa previously assisted his 2023 House of Representatives campaign, he consistently maintained she had no involvement in his Senate bid or post-election duties. Nevertheless, Line conversation screenshots between Ms. Pannipa and Mr. Sananchai from early to mid-June 2024 explicitly discuss candidate list compilation and reporting back to Sornsart, with Sornsart's name visibly referenced in the documents.

Furthermore, image evidence showed Ms. Pannipa sharing the location of the Tara Grand Hotel with a witness on the afternoon of June 24, 2024. This aligns with witness accounts identifying the hotel as a operational hub where Senate candidates from multiple provinces gathered. Images 7 and 8 revealed that Sornsart's Group 13, Number 111 candidate ballot number appeared on pooling sheets prepared at the hotel, which likely explains his high vote count in Group 13 during the national round rather than his background as a former MP.

Source: Matichon Politics