Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit has announced his resignation as deputy premier and interior minister effective next Monday.   

“No one pressured me to resign. I made my own decision. I wanted to prevent legal problems,” he said.  

Yongyuth’s eligibility to serve in the cabinet and as a member of parliament was in doubt after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) found him guilty of malfeasance recently.  

He was found to have unlawfully endorsed the sale of monastic land owned by Wat Thammikaram to Alpine Real Estate Co and Alpine Golf and Sports Club Co during his stint as deputy permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry in 2002. Under Thai law, monastic land cannot be sold or transferred.  

Yongyuth said he would remain as the Pheu Thai party leader and a member of parliament.  

He has been facing mounting pressure from outside and within his party for his resignation lately.  

Some leaders within his party feared that Pheu Thai, the leading coalition party in the current government may face possible dissolution if Yongyuth was ultimately found culpable and forced from office as he was the party leader.  

Yongyuth is one of the five deputy prime ministers in the Yingluck Shinawatra administration.  

- Bernama