A lawmaker with the progressive Move Forward party has been accused of physically assaulting a woman he had been dating.
Sirin Sanguansin, a member of the parliament, has not yet addressed the allegations made by the woman on her Instagram account, who is scheduled to meet with police on Sunday.
In the 26-year-old woman’s complaint filed with police at the Bo Win station in Chonburi province, she said she was assaulted by Sirin, whom she had been seeing for about a month. She alleged that the assault left bruises across her body and face. She also shared a picture of a police station with a caption reading “If you dare to do it, then you will face the consequences.”
She also alleged that Sirin snatched her mobile phone and threw it into the street.
Sirin has not commented on the accusations. The alleged incident seemed to occur Friday when party members were attending a conference in Chonburi.
Move Forward alarmed the old guard by emerging from May’s election with the most votes, beating both the military proxy parties and longtime opposition parties.
The woman said the 27-year-old MP picked her up at the Pattana Golf Club & Resort and helped load her bags into his car. After driving for awhile, she said the MP punched her in the face. Then, she said he stopped the car and dragged her out of the vehicle.
Move Forward representatives said yesterday that they were taking the allegations seriously.
“Regarding the case of the MP being accused of physical assault, the party considers the incident to be a serious matter,” it said in a statement posted online. “The party has contacted the complainant for further information and will expedite the case for consideration by the party’s disciplinary committee as soon as possible.”
Lt. Gen. Enak Saengthong of the Bo Win Police Station, said investigators would meet with the woman Sunday morning.
Twitter has seen many discussions of the case under the hashtag #MPAssaultsWoman.
In 2019, the former wife of Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who stands to become the next prime minister, alleged that he was physically abusive. Her allegations were dismissed in court, where Pita gained sole custody of their daughter Pipim.
