Judge sets Voice TV hearing date

The Central Administrative Court has scheduled Feb 20 as the date to consider grounds on a case filed by Voice TV against the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) which has suspended its TV station licence for 15 days.

Yesterday, both Voice TV, belonging to the Shinawatra family, and the NBTC sent representatives to testify in court. The court spent two hours before setting the date.

Voice TV was taken off-air on Wednesday, Voice TV chief executive officer Makin Petplai said.

While giving the order, NBTC said that Voice TV had aired content causing confusion and inciting divisions. Therefore, the NBTC board decided to suspend the operating licence of Voice TV, said Lt Gen Perapong Manakit, a member of the NBTC subcommittee governing TV content and programming.

Voice TV has breached the rules a number of times, Lt Gen Perapong said, adding that the suspension was intended to allow Voice TV time to improve its content.

The Thai Journalists Association, the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association and the Online News Providers Association earlier this week issued a statement saying that the NBTC must exercise its power wisely so as not to impede on freedom of the media.

The group also called on the media to be careful when reporting political news to ward off criticism that they are acting in favour of any particular political party. Additionally, they need to avoid reporting that could spur divisions.

The TV station is now airing programmes online via its website and on social media but it remains banned from broadcasting on TV.