The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has petitioned the Supreme Court to assess tougher penalties against suspended Deputy Education Minister Kanokwan Vilawan in connection with a land encroachment case.
The graft-busting agency on Tuesday lodged a petition with the court seeking its ruling to axe the Bhumjaithai Party MP from duty, withdraw her voting rights and ban her from politics for no more than 10 years.
The latest move by the NACC was disclosed on Friday and the court will announce its decision whether to accept the case next Friday.
Ms Kanokwan and the others accused in the case have denied the charges.
Although she has been suspended from duty as a deputy minister, the Education Ministry website still has her name and picture in its listing of top officials.
The Supreme Court in August suspended Ms Kanokwan after accepting a petition accusing her of serious ethical misconduct in a land encroachment case.
The NACC in June accused Ms Kanokwan, her father Soonthorn Vilawan and eight others of illegally occupying about 150 rai of land in Khao Yai National Park.
The accused were found to have occupied three areas in the park with fake title deeds issued two decades ago by Land Department officials.
In one case, Ms Kanokwan claimed to have purchased a plot in 1990 from a man who was found to be non-existent, the NACC alleges.
Ms Kanokwan is a deputy secretary-general of the Bhumjaithai Party and her father is the head of the Prachin Buri Provincial Administration Organisation.
