Community Groups Challenge Provincial Chief Over EEC Protest Complaints

Representatives of the Phraprong River Basin Protection Network and Prachuap Strong Network, led by Sunthon Komkhai and Pismai Panchati, filed a complaint with the Interior Minister on September 17, 2025, requesting fairness and investigation into whether the Prachuap Khiri Khan governor properly exercised discretion. The governor ordered a fact-finding committee into headman Prapachai Ruksri of Ban Thong subdistrict after receiving an anonymous complaint alleging misconduct and inappropriate behavior stemming from his participation in an EEC expansion protest on August 23, 2025. The complaint also accused him of making critical remarks about the governor and potentially violating the Public Assembly Act.

The networks argue that anonymous complaints should require credible preliminary evidence before triggering investigations, to prevent the complaint process from becoming a tool for political harassment or bad-faith action. They asked the Interior Ministry to verify whether the governor's use of discretion complies with law and good governance standards as consistently applied to similar cases. The networks confirmed that Prapachai participated in the assembly as an affected resident, not while performing official duties, and that the protest was lawfully registered, peaceful, orderly, and attended by senior officials and police without incident. They characterized any critical remarks as legitimate opinion about local leadership's role in addressing public grievances, not personal attacks, and noted that full video and audio recordings exist to prove the facts.

The networks emphasized that Prapachai has served as headman since 2007 with a clean record, never previously facing discipline. They argued that receiving and forwarding residents' concerns to government agencies fulfills his statutory duty under the Local Government Act to "relieve suffering and promote welfare," and should not be construed as misconduct. The community groups made two key demands: review of the governor's discretionary decision and cessation or suspension of the disciplinary investigation.