Thailand’s parliament has announced an investigation into a former army commander and senior politician after he was filmed slapping a journalist who tried to ask him a question.
Prawit Wongsuwon on Friday lashed out at a reporter from Thai state broadcaster Thai PBS when he was questioned about the appointment of Pathomtar Shinawatra as the new prime minister.
Prawit, 79, was filmed hitting Duanthip Eanghop several times on the head as he left the building, demanding: “What are you listening to? What? What?”
Prawit, who served as commander of the Thai army in the early 2000s, was one of the architects of the 2014 coup that ousted Pathontharn’s aunt, then-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
He served as deputy prime minister under the military junta that was in power until last year.
The Thai parliament said in a statement that it would investigate the slapping incident after Thai PBS filed a formal complaint, and that Prawit could be suspended or permanently banned from parliament if found guilty of serious ethics violations.
The Thai Journalists Association condemned Prawit for using “violence against journalists.” It said his actions were “an intimidation and harassment of the right and freedom of the press.”
Thai PBS editor-in-chief Noppadol Srihathai told reporters that Prawit’s actions “threaten journalism.” “He was seen harming journalists and we cannot tolerate that. As a public institution, we must protect the rights of journalists and ensure that the work of the media is not affected in the future,” Noppadol said.
Prawit apologised to Duangthip and said he had “no ill intentions”.
He has been one of Thailand’s most influential negotiators during the turbulent past two decades and a key figure in the country’s conservative, pro-military, pro-monarchist regime.
In 2018, he was investigated on corruption charges over his luxury watch collection after online sleuths found old photos of him wearing at least 22 different watches, including 11 Rolexes, but the National Anti-Corruption Commission dropped the case.
