Army scoops up ex-MP in red bowl case
TASK FORCE SEIZES 8,862 ‘SEDITIOUS’ ITEMS
A former Pheu Thai MP is facing criminal charges after authorities yesterday found nearly 9,000 red plastic bowls bearing a message from ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra at her home in Nan.
A combined force from the 38th Military Circle and provincial police used sweeping search and seizure powers granted by the NCPO to raid the home of Sirinthorn Ramasut in tambon Nai-weang, Muang district.
They recovered 8,862 red bowls, which authorities claim are seditious, from the property.
The bowls each bear a message, along with Thaksin’s signature, intended to mark Songkran which reads: “Although the situation is hot, I want you to receive coolness from water via this bowl.”
Authorities said Ms Sirinthorn cooperated during the search.
The former MP has been charged with breaching Section 116 of the Criminal Code, which involves any actions to publicise messages in a bid to stir political unrest.
Ms Sirinthorn said the bowls were delivered to her by truck from Bangkok in the middle of last month. Some of them had already been delivered to other former MPs, she said.
The seized bowls were taken to the nearby Suriyapong army camp.
Raids were also carried out on the office of Chonlanan Srikaew, a former Pheu Thai MP for Nan, in Wiang Sa district, and that of another ex-MP, Nathapong Supreeyasilp, in Pua district.
The raids follow the arrest last week of a Chiang Mai woman, who was charged with sedition for posting a photo of herself with one of the bowls along with a picture of Thaksin and his sister, deposed premier Yingluck Shinawatra.
Jirawan Charoensuk, 54, is believed to have posted the photo online on Monday.
Ms Jirawan was taken to the military court in Chiang Mai where she pleaded not guilty. She was bailed out with 100,000 baht in surety. She told Thai Rath Online on Thursday that investigators demanded she surrender the red bowl and the photograph of the former prime ministers as evidence. She said she had already discarded the bowl and the photo.
Chaipin Katiya, head of the Thai Rath news centre in Chiang Mai, was also questioned by security officers after the story was published. He said the article was not political and was only intended as part of his coverage of water conservation during the Songkran festival in Chiang Mai.
Red bowls were seen among the supporters of Ms Yingluck when she arrived at the Supreme Court to attend the sixth hearing in her dereliction of duty case on Friday. Police managed to seize the bowls. Ms Yingluck said Thai people wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of Songkran celebrations rather than focusing on security issues.
A 57-year-old Chiang Mai woman was charged with inciting rebellion last week for posting a photo of herself with a red plastic bowl on Facebook. The bowl, to sprinkle people with water during Songkran, also happened to carry a message from fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. She faces the prospect of up to seven years’ jail if convicted of sedition. To highlight the social ‘no-nos’ that may threaten the peace brought to the country since the coup, Spectrum is publishing a reminder of unsavory activities frowned upon since May 2014.