(SEAPA/IFEX) – On 30 November 2005, Southern Bangkok’s civil court dismissed a civil defamation lawsuit filed by a retired senior police officer against 17 people, including a women’s rights activist, senior journalists and publishers of six local dailies, and an ex-army officer. The lawsuit, which sought 2.5 billion baht (approx. US$60,441,210) in damages, was filed […]
(SEAPA/IFEX) – On 30 November 2005, Southern Bangkok’s civil court dismissed a civil defamation lawsuit filed by a retired senior police officer against 17 people, including a women’s rights activist, senior journalists and publishers of six local dailies, and an ex-army officer.
The lawsuit, which sought 2.5 billion baht (approx. US$60,441,210) in damages, was filed in relation to several statements published in 2003, accusing then-national police chief Gen. Sant Sarutanont of inappropriate behaviour toward a female television reporter. One of these statements suggested that Sant’s actions amounted to sexual harassment.
The recent court decision, however, dismissed the defamation suit brought by the police general, saying the statements were made in good faith.
The court also ruled that the damages sought by Gen. Sant were unreasonable and should therefore be denied.
Sant reportedly invited a female reporter of TV Channel 9 for a talk on private matters on 26 May 2003 while she was reporting on a cabinet meeting in Phuket province. In a separate incident on 31 May 2003, Sant asked his subordinates to persuade her to join him on a free helicopter ride back to Bangkok from Ubonratchathani province, where she had been covering another cabinet meeting.
The incidents were brought to the media’s attention by the reporter’s friends and prompted the Thai Journalists Association and Thai Broadcast Journalists Association to issue a joint statement warning the media community of the case and urging female reporters to take precautions to avoid such situations. The TJA also urged Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to set up a disciplinary committee to look into the matter.
Sant sued for defamation in 2004. Among the defendants were former army advisor Maj. Gen. Kattiya Sawasdipol, women’s rights activist Ticha na Nakorn, and senior “Bangkok Post” reporter Yuwadee Tunyasiri, all of whom made statements about the story on the general’s reported indiscretion. Also sued were publishers of the Thai dailies “Matichon”, “Kao Sod”, “Manager Daily”, “Thai Post”, “Baan Maung” and the “Bangkok Post”, which published the statements as part of their news coverage.
Apart from concluding from testimonies that Sant’s alleged misconduct did likely occur, the court also ruled that the public and the media had the right to criticise public officials for improper behaviour.
The ruling also suggested that the published statements concerning this incident were fair and served as an appropriate warning to senior civil servants regarding potential misconduct.
In a separate case, on 24 November, a civil court affirmed the same principle by rescinding a gag order on two sister media companies, Manager Media Group and Thaiday.com. The decision partially lifted an earlier court order banning Thaksin’s staunch critic and the companies’ founder, Sondhi Limthongkul, from criticising the prime minister pending the hearing of libel cases against him. The court also ruled that the prime minister is a public figure and therefore subject to criticism from the public and the media.
