A former election candidate has filed a complaint against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s security detail, accusing them of assaulting her during the premier’s visit to Ratchaburi on Monday.
Wanthana Othong, 62, was accompanied by her lawyer in lodging the complaint with the Central Investigation Bureau on Tuesday.
Wanthana Othong, 62, a former Puea Chart Party election candidate, is dragged from the roadside where Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha passed by during his visit to Ratchaburi on Monday. TV Screen Capture
Ms Wanthana said she was dragged away by uniformed and plain-clothed personnel from the roadside where she had been waiting to air complaints to Gen Prayut about her job as a vendor in Bang Pong district of Ratchaburi.
A video clip released on social media showed two female police officers in uniform pulling her away while another officer used an umbrella in an attempt to shield her from public view.
As Gen Prayut’s motorcade passed, the woman reportedly shouted abuse at the prime minister. However, Ms Wanthana denied she shouted insults at the premier.
She said a few women had appeared alongside her who were government opponents. They might have used foul language as the prime minister’s motorcade was going past, but not her, she said. She insisted she was not there to protest against the prime minister.
The manhandling by the security detail had left her with a swollen arm and temporarily unable to make a living, she said.
Ms Wanthana stood in 2019’s general election in 2019 in Ratchaburi’s Constituency 4 for the Puea Chart Party, allied with Pheu Thai Party.