Court moves against fake video claiming judge said “sit down, my child”

The Constitutional Court will take action against those involved in the dissemination and distortion of video clips and information claiming to be from last Friday’s hearing related to suspended prime minister Paetongtarn’s conversation with Cambodia’s Hun Sen.

The Court issued a statement today, stating that this misinformation misled the public and damaged the Court’s credibility

After the hearing, video clips and news reports were published, by various media channels, allegedly containing false and distorted information about the Constitutional Court’s inquiry process.

The reports claimed that a Constitutional Court judge addressed Paetongtarn Shinawatra by saying, “Sit down, my child,” when the judge had actually said, “Sit down, please.”

The Court stressed that such dissemination and distortion of fact are offenses under the Computer Crime Act B.E. 2550 (2007) and other related laws, and are contempt of court.

According to the Court’s statement, the Office of the Constitutional Court will take legal action against those who distorted and disseminated the video clip in question.

On August 21, the Constitutional Court held a hearing to question suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Chatchai Bangchuad, Secretary-General of the National Security Council.

The hearing concerned a petition submitted by the Senate President, asking the Court to rule on whether Paetongtarn should be removed from office over her controversial conversation with Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen during a time of crisis between the two countries.

The Court’s statement added that, upon the conclusion of the witness examinations, attendees at the hearing were ordered not to disseminate information about the hearing or to distort facts or legal issues in a manner that could mislead the public.