Thai Politicians File Police Complaint Over Flood Aid Defamation
Thai politicians Panithan Wanich and Wutthakorn Nutyakul filed a police complaint after being accused online of misusing military meal boxes for personal publicity during flood relief. They said the allegations, which spread rapidly on social media, were baseless and intended to stir political hatred during the crisis. The complaint targets specific users who posted the defamatory content.
On October 6 at 1:30 p.m., Panithan Wanich, spokesperson for the Progressive Movement and former party‑list MP, accompanied by Wutthakorn Nutyakul, MP for Nonthaburi’s 1st constituency from the People’s Party, and party legal advisers, filed a police complaint at Rattanathibet Police Station in Nonthaburi Province. They accused social‑media users of defamation after posts claimed that Wutthakorn had taken military meal boxes labelled “904” and distributed them for personal publicity during the September 26‑27 floods in Bangkok and Nonthaburi.
Panithan said the allegations emerged shortly after the flood relief effort began. She and Wutthakorn had joined military personnel in handing out food boxes to affected communities. The posts, which appeared almost immediately after the distribution, accused the pair of staging the aid for political gain and falsely claiming the boxes as their own. She argued that the claim was baseless because the boxes bore no unit markings and that the military simply provided the supplies while local MPs helped identify neighborhoods in need.
She added that the party leader, herself, and Wutthakorn had been working in the flood‑hit area when the photos were posted. The images, intended to update the public on relief progress, were quickly twisted into accusations of self‑promotion. Panithan expressed disappointment, saying MPs had been exhausted from assisting residents and that turning humanitarian work into a political attack was unfair, especially during a crisis.
She characterised the incident as politically motivated, noting that prior days of cooperation with the military had passed without controversy, but as soon as the party leadership arrived, the hostile posts appeared. Panithan said she had already warned the individual identified as “Tawan” (surname withheld) about the false claims, yet the posts continued, and another user, Rujira, repeatedly shared the same allegation that the “904” boxes were being misappropriated.
