Thailand’s parliament has said it will investigate a senior politician and former army chief after he was filmed slapping a reporter as she tried to ask him questions.
Prawit Wongsuwon lashed out at a journalist from the public broadcaster ThaiPBS on Friday as she asked him about the appointment of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the kingdom’s new prime minister.
Prawit, 79, was filmed hitting Duangthip Yiamphop several times around the head as he left a building, demanding: “What are you asking? What? What?”
Prawit, who was Thailand’s army chief in the early 2000s, was one of the architects of the 2014 coup that ousted Paetongtarn’s aunt and the then prime minister, 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 face suspension as an MP or a lifetime ban if he is found guilty of a serious ethical violation.
The Thai Journalists Association condemned Prawit for using “violence against a journalist”. It said it “considers his actions to be threatening and harassing toward the rights and freedom of the press”.
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 organisation, we must protect journalists’ rights so that media work won’t be affected in the future,” Noppadol said.
Prawit has apologised to Duangthip, saying he “did not have any bad intention”.
He has been one of Thailand’s most influential dealmakers over the past two decades of turbulence and a key figure in the conservative, pro-military, pro-royalist establishment.
He was subject to a graft investigation in 2018 over his collection of luxury watches after online sleuths found old photos of him wearing at least 22 different timepieces, including 11 Rolexes, but the National Anti-Corruption Commission dropped the case.
Source: theguardian.com
