Banpodj leader a figure of mystery

It’s interesting the forged statement about the King’s health surfaced right after police announced an arrest of six people allegedly belonging to an anti-monarchy Banpodj network, according to The Nation Weekly.

The Banpodj group of suspects was arrested on the morning of Feb 2 while the fake statement was circulated that evening, said the story entitled “Revealing the Banpodj Network’’.

While it’s not yet clear whether the Banpodj gang has any connection to the distribution of the fake document, it’s worth looking at its membership. The six people arrested are: - Damrong Sithichoke, or Dam Samray, who serves as an administrator of the Banpodj Thailand clips page.

- Siwaporn Panya, who allegedly publicised anti-monarchy materials on her Facebook.

- Ngoenkhoon Udomkhunakorn, who allegedly raised funds for the network.

- Paisit Jirapradupwong, who runs the Facebook page Pradit Suksombul.

- Anchan Preelert who runs the Facebook page Patch PrachPrakary and allegedly took care of the network’s financing.

- Thara Wanitchpongpun, who owns the okthai.com website which disseminates the anti-monarchy materials and sells products for the network.

According to the article, the suspects combined genuine information with false materials before disseminating the forgery on their network. As for alleged ring-leader Banpodj, another report in the same issue said it is a pseudonym of an overseas red shirt considered part of the movement’s intellectual faction. “Banpodj never lets anybody knows who he/ she is,’’ said the story. “Banpodj has sought to spread his thoughts through audio clips. His analyses are intellectual, commanding attention from quite a few members of liberated reds.’’

The arrests of the network members could be a sign the authorities know his identity, the story said.