Thaksin sues Warong for defamation, seeks THB100 million damages
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has filed a defamation lawsuit against Warong Dechgitvigrom, chairman of the Thai Pakdee Party, for accusing him of paying a bribe to be granted release on bail in a lese majeste case.
After submitting the lawsuit to the Criminal Court on Thursday, Thaksin’s authorised attorney Winyat Chartmontree told reporters that the suit demanded 100 million baht in damages from Warong.
Warong, a long-time critic of Thaksin, had given a public speech as well as posted on social media, alleging the payment of 2 billion baht to officials in the judicial system for release on bail in the lese majeste case.
Thaksin last week secured bail on a bond of 500,000 baht and was ordered not to leave the country without court permission, after he pleaded innocent to a charge of defaming King Rama IX through his interview to South Korean media in 2015.
Winyat said although Warong did not mention Thaksin by name in his speech or post, he did include a hashtag with Thaksin’s name, as well as the date when Thaksin must show up at the court, making it possible for readers to link Thaksin with the allegation.
Winyat added that he was looking into the fact that Warong also had mentioned the details of flights and vehicles that Thaksin had used for violation of the Personal Data Protection Act.
“I have urged Mr Warong to show the evidence as to from where he had obtained the data. If it turns out that it came from state officials, there will be legal repercussions,” he said.
The Criminal Court has set September 30 as the date for the preliminary hearing of the case.
