Senior Thai politician to face probe for slapping reporter

Thailand’s then-deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan, speaks to members at a meeting outlining the Palang Pracharath Party’s policies ahead of the general election in Bangkok on February 10, 2023. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

BANGKOK — Thailand’s parliament said it would investigate a senior politician and former army chief after he was filmed slapping a reporter as she tried to ask him questions.

Prawit Wongsuwan lashed out at a journalist from public broadcaster ThaiPBS on Friday as she asked him about the appointment of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the kingdom’s new prime minister.

The 79-year-old was seen in a video hitting Duangthip Yiamphop several times around the head as he left a building, demanding “What are you asking? What? What?”

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Prawit, Thailand’s army chief in the early 2000s, was one of the architects of the 2014 coup that ousted Paetongtarn’s aunt, then-PM Yingluck Shinawatra.

He went on to serve as deputy prime minister under the military-backed government that ruled until last year.

The Thai parliament said in a statement that it would investigate the slapping after ThaiPBS made a formal complaint.

Prawit could potentially face suspension as an MP or even a lifetime ban if he is found guilty of a serious ethical violation.

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The Thai Journalists’ Association condemned Prawit for using “violence against a journalist”.

“The Thai Journalists Association considers his actions to be threatening and harassing toward the rights and freedom of the press,” it said in a statement.

Noppadol Srihatai, the executive editor of ThaiPBS, told reporters that Prawit’s actions “threaten journalism”.

“He was seen hurting a reporter and we cannot accept it. As a public organization, we must protect journalists’ rights so that media work won’t be affected in the future,” Noppadol said.

Prawit has apologised to the reporter, saying he “did not have any bad intention”.

The retired general has been one of Thailand’s most influential dealmakers over the past two decades of turbulence, a key figure in the kingdom’s conservative pro-military, pro-royalist establishment.

He was subject to a graft probe in 2018 over his collection of luxury watches after online sleuths dug up old photos of him wearing at least 22 different timepieces, including 11 Rolexes.

But the National Anti-Corruption Commission dropped the case.