POLITICS-THAILAND ELECTION 2019: CSI LA in hot water over voting photos

The head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Judge Advocate General’s office, Col Burin Thongprapai, lodged a complaint Monday, after the Facebook page said the photos “proved” soldiers had been ordered to vote for a certain political party, believed to refer to the pro-regime Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

One photo showed soldiers standing in a queue to cast ballots at an advanced voting centre upcountry with a caption reading: “Conscripts being ordered to vote … an insider tip-off.”

That was a total misrepresentation, argued Col Burin, who on Monday asked the Technology Crime Suppression Division to act against the page administrator, Pramuk Anantasin, a US resident.

The picture of the soldiers queuing only reflected their military “discipline”, he said.

The army respects soldiers’ right to vote and has never told them to support certain parties, Col Burin claimed.

He asked police to charge CSI LA with disseminating false information on the internet, an offence under Section 14 of the Computer Crime Act.

According to Col Burin, another three photos also carried similarly slanderous captions.

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He warned people to avoid sharing the photos as they would be subject to the “same penalties” as those who posted the photos originally, which include a maximum five-year jail term, Col Burin said.

On Sunday, army spokesman Winthai Suwaree said soldiers are free to cast their vote for whichever party they want.

It is not the first time CSI LA has been in hot water. Last year, the Samui Provincial Court granted police a warrant for the arrest of its administrator and 12 other people for posting and sharing a false report about the alleged rape of a British tourist on Koh Tao, a resort island off Surat Thani.

CSI LA made a big splash on Thai social media after it compiled pictures of the luxury watches worn by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who was earlier accused of not including them in his asset declaration to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The NACC cleared Gen Prawit of the alleged wrongdoing late last year.

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