An investigation has been requested by Thailand’s parliament against veteran politician and former army chief Prawit Wongsuwon for hitting a journalist last week. A Thai PBS (public broadcaster) reporter was trying to ask him questions about the appointment of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the new PM, when he struck her on her head on Friday.
Wongsuwon was filmed hitting Duangthip Yiamphop, the reporter, multiple times on her head, as he exited the building, asking: “What are you asking? What? What?”
A video of 79-year-old Thai MP and former Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan slapping a female journalist has gone viral, sparking widespread debate. Previously involved in two coups, he’s now under scrutiny in a parliamentary investigation. #Thailand #PoliticalScandal #PrawitWongsuwan pic.twitter.com/xa5mrUVAFy
— Social Yuva सोशल युवा (@socialyuvaindia) August 22, 2024
A Palang Pracharath Party spokesman stated that Wongsuwon knew the journalist well and had already apologised to her. He said that the politician “was teasing her as someone who he is close to,” BBC reported.
As per a report by The Guardian, he has apologised to Duangthip, saying he “did not have any bad intention”.
Meanwhile, Thai PBS have demanded that Wongsuwon “take responsibility for his alleged attempts to intimidate a reporter”.
The Thai Broadcast Journalists Association and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand have also submitted a letter to the Parliament speaker, seeking a probe into whether his actions violated the MP’s ethics conduct.
Condemning the former army chief for “violence against a journalist”, Thai Journalists Association said it “considers his actions to be threatening and harassing toward the rights and freedom of the press”, The Guardian reported.
In a statement, the Thai Parliament said that it would investigate the incident following formal complaint by Thai PBS. If found guilty of a serious ethical violation, he could be suspended as an MP. A lifetime ban could also be imposed on him.
Prawit Wongsuwon served as Thailand’s army chief in the early 2000s. He was one of the architects of the 2014 coup that led to the ouster of Paetongtarn’s aunt and then PM Yingluck Shinawatra.
Subsequently, he served as the deputy PM as part of the military-backed government that ruled the country until last year.
