A man at the centre of campaign-fraud allegations against the Thai Rak Thai Party yesterday denied the involvement of the Democrat Party, saying he had acted alone to expose Thai Rak Thai payments to small parties to contest the April 2 general election.

"The ruling party has tried to portray it as a frame-up, but it was in fact a sting operation I carried out myself without the Democrats' involvement," said political activist Thaikorn Polsuwan.

Thai Rak Thai on Friday accused Thaikorn of acting on behalf of the Democrat Party in suborning the Better Life Party to frame Thai Rak Thai with funding smaller parties.

Thai Rak Thai released a VCD showing Thaikorn in negotiations with Better Life leader Wannawarit Tantipirom.

The disclosure of the alleged fraud came the day after the Nam Yimyaem report became public.

The report by a panel of the Election Commission (EC) recommended that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra be charged with culpability in the involvement of his party in suborning two small parties, Thai Ground and Pattana Chat Thai, to contest the polls.

The Thaikorn case as seen by Thai Rak Thai is not linked to the findings of the EC panel at all.

Thaikorn said the ruling party had doctored the VCD in order to put the blame on him and show itself in a good light.

The events recorded on the VCD happened after the April 2 balloting results, and the undoctored version would show how a party-list candidate tried to recruit small parties to field candidates in 40 constituencies designated for the repeat vote on April 23, Thaikorn said.

This Thai Rak Thai candidate wanted his party to circumvent the rule whereby the sole contester of a constituency must win 20 per cent of the votes, he said.

Thai Rak Thai struck a deal with Wannawarit at the Rattanakosin Hotel before the Songkran holiday to field four candidates in Phatthalung, Phang Nga and Songkhla, he said.

Later the Supreme Court disqualified the four candidates, and Wannawarit asked for Thaikorn's assistance to get out of the legal wrangle, Thaikorn said.

"I said every word on the VCD, but I was coaching Wannawarit to expose the mastermind of the funding of the small parties, who was trying to save himself from potential legal mayhem," he said.

He said Thai Rak Thai had projected him as trying to convince Wannawarit to frame Thai Rak Thai and that the VCD was only a partial record of the meeting at the hotel.

"I came onto the scene after the ruling party had paid some small parties, including Better Life, so it would be nonsense for me to want to frame Thai Rak Thai," he said.

With regard to his links with the main opposition party, he said he had resigned his Democrat membership in 1996 in order to form his Prachachon Thai Party.

The party was dissolved by a court order last year for having "disqualified management", and he reapplied for Democrat membership in March.

"Although I become a Democrat once again, I have not been an active member, and the party had no part in my action," he said, claiming affiliation as an activist of the Isaan Ku Chat Network.

He said he had mentioned the names of two Democrat executives, Suthep Thaugsuban and Alongkorn Pollabutr, in an "analogy" aimed at convincing Wannawarit. This, he said, should not be construed as involvement by Suthep and Alongkorn.

Thai Rak Thai deputy spokesman Jatuporn Phromphan said Thaikorn could not distance himself from the main opposition party.

"It is not credible to deny the Democrats' involvement, because Thaikorn invokes the names of ranking Democrats so many times on the VCD," he said.

Furthermore, Wannawarit notified Chaiyaphum police commander Maj-General Prasith Thamdee on April 20 that two policemen from Nakhon Ratchasima had tried to coerce him to testify against the ruling party, Jatuporn said.

Prompted by Wannawarit's complaint, Prasith instructed his subordinate, Major Ruthapol Nawarat, to record the meeting with Thaikorn, he said.

Commenting on the Nam Yimyaem report against the ruling party, he said it was unfair because no Thai Rak Thai executives had been allowed to present evidence in their defence.