Senate candidate gets two years

Senate candidate gets two years

BANGKOK (AP): In a fresh sign that reforms to clean up politics are taking hold, a Senate candidate has been sentenced to two years jail for vote-buying, a court official said on Friday.

But the verdict came amid growing reports of new poll abuses ahead of an election rerun ordered on Saturday for 78 Senate seats that were deemed to have been won by fraud in a first vote March 4.

Chusak Trisrisilp, a candidate for Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, was found guilty by Chiang Rai provincial court Thursday of violating election law.

He was accused of putting on an entertainment show and passing out free tickets to voters in a bid to gain support during his campaign for Thailand's inaugural Senate election last month.

Chusak was immediately released on a 200,000 baht (US$5,263) bail, pending an appeal that must be filed within 30 days, a court official said on customary condition of anonymity.