PUBLISHED : 8 Nov 2025 at 13:26

Former MP and red-shirt leader Nisit Sindhuprai, left, is questioned by a police investigator at the Crime Suppression Division’s sub-division 3 after he surrendered to face charges in connection with the 2009 Asean Summit protest in Pattaya. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

Red-shirt core member Nisit Sindhuprai has surrendered to police after years of evading arrest in connection with the Asean Summit protest in Pattaya in 2009, where demonstrators stormed a hotel to disrupt the regional meeting.

The former Pheu Thai Party MP for Si Sa Ket and Roi Et turned himself in at the Crime Suppression Division’s Sub-Division 3 in Bangkok on Thursday.

He is wanted under an arrest warrant issued by the Pattaya Provincial Court on Nov 1, 2019, on charges of causing public disorder, property damage and trespassing.

The veteran politician, 69, arranged his surrender and reported to the highway police checkpoint in Suwannaphum district, Roi Et, to face the charges.

The case originates from 2009, when Mr Nisit led a large group of protesters to the Royal Cliff Beach Resort in Pattaya, Chon Buri, along with other United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) leaders. The protest aimed to disrupt the summit and exert political pressure during the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, causing significant damage and reputational harm to Thailand.

Mr Nisit was later charged with the incident. When the case reached the verdict stage in 2019, he failed to appear in court, resulting in a sentence of four years in prison in absentia. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued.

Upon surrender, Mr Nisit denied all charges and declined to comment during initial investigation. He was later transferred to the Pattaya Provincial Court for further legal proceedings.

He is also the father of Ms Jiraporn Sindhuprai, a former Prime Minister’s Office minister under the Srettha Thavisin government and the Paetongtarn Shinawatra administration.