A veteran Thai politician is in hot water after he was filmed slapping a female journalist over the head. Former Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who heads the Palang Pracharath Party, slapped Duanthip Ianpop, a reporter for Thailand’s national broadcaster, during an encounter in Bangkok on Friday. Prawit, who is chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, was leaving a meeting with Olympic athletes when Duanthip asked him a question about the recently concluded parliamentary vote to select Paethonthan Shinawatra as the new prime minister, The New York Times reports.
“What did you ask? What kind of question is that?” Prawit, the prime ministerial candidate, replied as he slapped Duangthip across the head. The first slap was audible and hard. Prawit, who once helped to oust the new prime minister’s aunt, then walked away, according to The Times. A party spokesman said the slap was casual and that Prawit was “teasing (the reporter) as a close friend,” the BBC reported. But Thai PBS claimed it was an attempt at intimidation. “It is unacceptable to be physically assaulted in this way by a news source,” it said.
The action drew condemnation from various groups, including Women for Press Freedom and the Union of Women Journalists. The Thai Broadcast Journalists Association and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand have formally requested an investigation by parliament to see if Prawit violated the code of conduct for members of parliament. The former disputed the explanation that this was all a joke, claiming that there was “anger and intimidation” in Prawit’s facial expressions. “This was a total assault,” said association president Itthipan Buathong. (More Thailand news)
