Court Accepts Defamation Suit Over Berry Bribe Allegations

The Criminal Court on August 19 scheduled a hearing on the preliminary investigation ruling in the defamation case brought by Suchart Chomklin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, against Ice Ruckchonok Srinork, a Pheu Thai party list MP, on charges of defamation through advertising.

The case involves shared posts by Hathairat Phaholtap, editor of The Isaan Record, presenting allegations that Thai officials and politicians solicited bribes from a company managing berry-picking workers in Finland. The court analyzed evidence presented by the plaintiff and found that the defendant used her public Facebook account with 1.7 million followers to post messages and share content on February 10, 2569, with numerous comments from the public suggesting the plaintiff was involved in corruption. The posts implied the plaintiff—a member of parliament and labour minister—committed offenses by accepting bribes and collecting 36 million baht in head fees, and that the Special Investigation Department had referred the matter to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for investigation.

However, the plaintiff stated he neither collected head fees from workers nor faced investigation by either agency. The court found sufficient grounds under Criminal Code sections 326 and 328 to accept the defamation suit. A second count involves posts from February 12 where the defendant questioned the plaintiff's involvement in the high-priced SKYY9 building purchase, land valuation irregularities in Chachoengsao, toxic waste smuggling, and electoral irregularities in a provincial election. Photos of the plaintiff accompanied these posts, leading the public to believe he profited from corruption. The court determined the posts constituted factual accusations rather than mere opinion or speculation, meeting the requirements for a defamation charge under Criminal Code section 326.