Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao has denied that the Ministry of Agriculture authorized the use of the Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation Department’s helicopter for ultranationalist influencer Guntouch “Gun Jompalang” Pongpaiboonwet’s activities during his tenure. Guntouch recently gained notoriety for orchestrating loud, distressing broadcasts along the Thai-Cambodian border. These broadcasts, reportedly amplified through loudspeakers on trucks, targeted Cambodian settlers in Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaeo in Sa Kaeo province and were reportedly supported by the army.

Pheu Thai party-list MP Anusorn Iamsa-ard questioned the qualifications of Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Suchart Chomklin during a parliamentary debate on the new Bhumjaithai-led government’s policy statement, citing concerns over past legal issues, ethical standards, and transparency in ministerial appointments. Anusorn argued that their appointments could undermine public trust and damage the credibility of the cabinet.

People's Party (PP) MPs have questioned influencer Guntouch Pongpaiboonwet's use of a Ministry of Agriculture helicopter to deliver flood relief.

Deputy PM Thammanat files defamation suits over alleged link to scam network Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao has filed a defamation lawsuit against a citizen who commented on Facebook about a parliamentary censure debate in which a People’s Party MP raised concerns about a scam network allegedly linked to Thai politicians. Thammanat disclosed that he has filed 270 defamation cases related to the issue. 46-year-old Tharathon Sarasuk from Saraburi Province faces a defamation charge filed by Deputy PM Thammanat for his comment on Facebook referring to MP Rangsiman Rome’s speech in parliament about a scam network allegedly linked to Thai politicians, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). After the People’s Party MP raised the issue, Thammanat told the media on 2 October that he had initiated legal proceedings against those involved in the censure debate on this issue and against 270 netizens who commented about it. During the censure debate, MP Rangsiman questioned the Deputy PM’s relationship with Ben Smith, also known as Benjamin Mauerberger, who is allegedly involved in scam network operations in Cambodia. The scrutiny followed the release of a photo showing Thammanat together with former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and Mauerberger, which was published by prominent investigative journalist Tom Wright. Thammanat also noted that if they ‘dared to fight him’, they must be prepared to appear in court in Phayao Province. The Deputy PM added that he planned to file additional cases in Tak and Narathiwat provinces, presumably because defendants would have to spend time and money answering charges in these distant provinces . Sompop Rattanawalee, Workpoint TV’s news director, also faces the same charge. On Monday (1 December), another citizen Suphaphorn Phosri revealed that she had received a summons in a case filed by Thammanat at Phayao Police Station. The charge stems from her Facebook post about Thammanat’s qualifications, which have been questioned by the general public. In her post, she is alleged to have said that instead of clarifying, Thammanat chose to threaten those who questioned him.  According to TLHR, during the 2019 general election, Thammanat, then an MP candidate for the Palang Pracharath Party in Phayao Province, filed an array of charges against Phayao residents and university students who posted Facebook criticisms of Party MPs during the election campaign. Thammanat has been a controversial political figure since he served time in prison in connection with a drug trafficking conviction in Australia in 1994. Despite multiple scandals, his political rise has secured him influential positions. Prior to his current role, Thammanat served as Agriculture Minister under former PMs Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and Srettha Thavisin. Regarding the drug trafficking case, Thammanat said during a censure debate in 2020 that the Australian Court convicted him by mistake, as the heroin in fact ‘was flour,’ (มันคือแป้ง), an excuse which has gone viral on Thailand’s social media platforms. The Constitutional Court was asked to rule whether Thammanat was disqualified from holding a ministerial post because of his drug conviction in Australia. The Court ruled that as his conviction was by an Australian court not a Thai court, he was not disqualified. eng editor 3 Tue, 2025-12-02 - 11:42 * News * Thammanat Prompao * Rangsiman Rome * scam (Feed generated with FetchRSS)

Kla Tham Party de facto leader Thammanat Prompao on Tuesday cast doubt on claims that vote-buying in the current election has reached as high as 7,500 baht per voter, saying such figures are financially implausible given the size of electoral constituencies. Thammanat said a single constituency typically contains at least 20,000–30,000 voters, meaning payments at that level would require an enormous budget, making the allegations unrealistic in practice.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul submitted the list of new Cabinet nominees for royal endorsement today, and here are the latest speculations on the proposed members. Prime Minister: Bhumjaithai (BJT) leader Anutin Charnvirakul Deputy Prime Ministers: Kla Tham de facto leader Thammanat Prompao Suchart Chomklin, who broke away from the pro-junta Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party Pattana Promphat, son of Santi Promphat (secretary-general of the pro-junta Palang Pracharath Party), as Santi is not eligible to hold the position…

The House Standing Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy, and National Reform informed Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao and Education Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat, both of the Kla Tham Party, that they must appear in person to clarify their links with Benjamin Mauerberger, a South African fixer and adviser to former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, accused of helping run a scam center network between Cambodia and Thailand.

Investigative journalist Tom Wright, known for exposing the 1MDB scandal, reported that Benjamin Mauerberger, a South African fixer for Southeast Asian elites, is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for pig butchering scams, contradicting earlier statements by Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao. A pig butchering scam is a type of fraud in which scammers build trust with victims—often through romance or friendship—then convince them to invest in fake schemes, ultimately stealing their money after “fattening” them up with fake profits.

March 6, 2026 Political News Is Kla Tham in or out of the Coalition The multi billion Baht question remains whether Kla Tham party that won 58 MPs in the February 2026 General Elections is in the coalition or not. The big question remains unanswered because Bhumjai Thai party continues to be non-committal to Kla Tham joining the coalition and Kla Tham’s de-facto leader - Thammanat Prompao, coming out to say that he ‘heard it from reporters’ that his party will join the coalition without Thammanat getting any Cabinet seat.

September 24, 2026 Political news Speculation has been rife that, by November this year, Thammanat Prompao, leader of the Kla Tham party, which is now in opposition in parliament, will lead the party's 58 MPs to join the current coalition government led by the Bhumjaithai party of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. This, if substantiated, would further consolidate the power of the Anutin led government.

Citizen indicted for defamation over Facebook post criticising Thammanat Prompao A 35-year-old citizen has been indicted for defamation over her Facebook post about Thammanat’s connection to a drug trafficking case in Australia. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that the public prosecutor indicted Suphaphorn Phosri, a 35-year-old vendor from Ratchaburi, for the defamation charge brought against her by MP Thammanat Prompao, Klatham Party leader and former Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister.  The case stemmed from her Facebook post about Thammanat’s qualifications, which have been questioned by the general public. In her post, she is alleged to have said that instead of clarifying, Thammanat chose to threaten those who questioned him.  Dozens of citizens have also faced defamation charges related to the same issue. Thammanat himself also revealed that he pursued over 600 legal proceedings, including the case against Suphaphorn. An array of charges brought against citizens stemmed from the People's Party MP Rangsiman Rome’s speech in parliament about a scam network allegedly linked to Thai politicians.  After the People’s Party MP raised the issue, Thammanat told the media on 2 October 2025 that he had initiated legal proceedings against those involved in the censure debate and who commented on Facebook referring to him. During the censure debate, MP Rangsiman questioned the Deputy PM’s relationship with Ben Smith, also known as Benjamin Mauerberger, who is allegedly involved in scam network operations in Cambodia. The scrutiny followed the release of a photo showing Thammanat together with former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and Mauerberger, which was published by prominent investigative journalist Tom Wright. Thammanat also noted that if they ‘dared to fight him’, they must be prepared to appear in court in Phayao Province. The Deputy PM added that he planned to file additional cases in Tak and Narathiwat provinces, presumably because defendants would have to spend time and money answering charges in these distant provinces. Suphaphorn received a summons on 1 December 2025, and she travelled from Ratchaburi to Phayao on 8 December to acknowledge the charge, where she denied the allegation. At the time, she also requested the case to be transferred to the court in her hometown, but the police refused to do so. Suphaphorn also submitted a petition to the public prosecutor, insisting that her post in question did not constitute defamation, but was merely criticism made in good faith. She also argued that the complaint was a part of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) to intimidate the public. On 26 March, Suphaphorn submitted a petition to the Senate Committee on Political Development and Public Participation, requesting an investigation into whether the case against her was a SLAPP case, and asking the committee to consider measures to prevent the use of laws to silence public expression. Thammanat’s legal representative contacted her in April, asking her to remove all posts on her social media platforms which were related to Thammanat in exchange for the withdrawal of the complaint against her. Supaporn did accept the proposal, insisting that it concerned freedom of expression and that Thammanat, as a politician, should be open to public criticism. She reaffirmed her intention to continue fighting the case. The public prosecutor indicted her on 21 May. According to the indictment, Suphaphorn allegedly defamed Thammanat by posting messages on Facebook on 2 October 2025 that led the readers to believe that he had been convicted of drug trafficking in Australia.  The Phayao Provincial Court granted her bail. According to TLHR, there have been six individuals in similar cases. Previously, five decided to accept Thammanat’s proposal in exchange for the withdrawal of complaints, given the burden of travelling from their hometown to fight the cases in Phayao. Suphaphorn was the only one who decided to fight the case. eng editor 3 Tue, 2026-05-26 - 21:08 * News * Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) * Defamation Law * Thammanat Prompao (Feed generated with FetchRSS)

Klatham MP sues university student for defamation over Facebook share An MP from the Klatham Party, led by Thammanat Prompao, has filed a defamation lawsuit against a university student over a Facebook share. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that Ratchanee Polsue, a Klatham MP for Roi Et Constituency 3, filed a defamation lawsuit against a Burapha University student. The MP also sought 300,000 baht in damages. The case stemmed from an incident on 6 January ahead of the 8 February general elections, when Ratchanee was an MP candidate for the Klatham Party. A local Facebook page posted content about lawsuits against Ratchanee and her husband, Ekkaphap Polsue.  Both were well-known local politicians. Ekkaphap was banned from politics for 10 years after falsely accusing a rival of corruption during the Roi Et Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) election campaign. Last year, Ratchanee was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption during her tenure as Roi Et PAO Chief in 2005.  A Facebook page, CSI LA, widely known for exposing corruption, later reposted the content and asked the Klatham Party to examine the MP candidate’s qualifications.  The university student then shared the post publicly without writing any messages.  According to the complaint, Ratchanee stated that the content of the Facebook post shared by the student was distorted and misleading, given that the case against her is currently on appeal and has not yet reached a final verdict. In addition, she said the court has yet to ban her from politics, asserting that she was eligible to run for the elections.  Ratchanee claimed that sharing this post was not done in good faith but rather intended to lead voters to believe that she was corrupt and disqualified from being an MP candidate. The plaintiff also claimed that after the defendant shared the post, questions were raised regarding her qualifications by both the general public and the Election Commission.  The message was also disseminated to other Facebook pages, damaging her reputation. During a preliminary hearing, Ratchanee’s lawyer admitted that Ratchanee was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption over educational media procurement, as stated in the post.  The lawyer also argued that any concerns should have been directed to the Election Commission rather than raised on a social media platform. Apart from this case, the lawyer revealed that Ratchanee has filed defamation lawsuits against at least four citizens over Facebook shares similar to this case.  A growing number of defamation lawsuits have recently been filed by influential politicians against ordinary people or even politicians from rival parties. Klatham Party leader Thammanat Prompao has also filed defamation lawsuits with Phayao Provincial Court against dozens of citizens for Facebook comments questioning his alleged involvement in a scam network.  eng editor 3 Wed, 2026-05-20 - 19:46 * News * defamation * Klatham Party * Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) * Roi Et Provincial Court (Feed generated with FetchRSS)

Two netizens face defamation suit for criticising Deputy PM over alleged link to scam network Two netizens have been sued for defamation by Deputy PM Thammanat Prompao after they commented on Facebook about a censure debate in which a People’s Party MP raised concerns about a scam network allegedly linked to Thai politicians. Thammanat has filed 270 defamation cases since October 2025 related to online comments linked to a scam network. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that two netizens, Tharathorn from Saraburi and Ekarak from Chachoengsao, face defamation lawsuits for their online comments targeting the Deputy PM and Agriculture Minister Thammanat. Both of them went to report at Phayao Police Station on Thursday (15 January). Meanwhile, Tharathon has received a summons from November 2025. He requested the case to be transferred to Saraburi, but his request was rejected. He had to travel over 600 kilometres to Phayao Police Station. Their comments stemmed from MP Rangsiman Rome’s speech in parliament in September 2025 about a scam network allegedly linked to Thai politicians, including Thammanat himself. During the censure debate, MP Rangsiman questioned the Deputy PM’s relationship with Ben Smith, also known as Benjamin Mauerberger, who is allegedly involved in scam network operations in Cambodia. The scrutiny followed the release of a photo showing Thammanat together with former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and Mauerberger, which was published by prominent investigative journalist Tom Wright. Rangsiman himself was recently sued for defamation by Benjamin Mauerberger on 12 January. Thammanat told the media on 2 October that he had initiated legal proceedings against those involved in the censure debate on this issue and against 270 netizens who commented about it. Apart from Tharathorn and Ekarat, another citizen, Suphaphorn Phosri, revealed that she had received a summons in a case filed by Thammanat at Phayao Police Station. The charge stems from her Facebook post about Thammanat’s qualifications, which have been questioned by the general public. In her post, she is alleged to have said that instead of clarifying, Thammanat chose to threaten those who questioned him. According to TLHR, since 2019, Thammanat, then an MP candidate for the Palang Pracharath Party in Phayao Province, has filed an array of charges against Phayao residents, university students who posted Facebook criticisms of Party MPs during the election campaign, or even against MPs from a rival political party, including Chaithawat Thulathon of the Move Forward Party. Thammanat has been a controversial political figure since he served time in prison in connection with a drug trafficking conviction in Australia in 1994. Despite multiple scandals, his political rise has secured him influential positions. Prior to his current role, Thammanat served as Agriculture Minister under former PMs Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and Srettha Thavisin. Regarding the drug trafficking case, Thammanat said during a censure debate in 2020 that the Australian Court convicted him by mistake, as the heroin in fact ‘was flour,’ an excuse which has gone viral on Thailand’s social media platforms. The Constitutional Court was asked to rule whether Thammanat was disqualified from holding a ministerial post because of his drug conviction in Australia. The Court ruled that as his conviction was by an Australian court not a Thai court, he was not disqualified. eng editor 3 Sat, 2026-01-17 - 12:01 * News * online freedom * Thammanat Prompao * scam (Feed generated with FetchRSS)

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was reportedly deeply dissatisfied after the two incidents. PHOTO: EPA BANGKOK - Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered narcotics agencies and

Thai Airways International has pledged full cooperation with Australian authorities after a Thai air hostess was arrested and heroin seized from her bags at Melbourne airport.

What are SLAPP lawsuits in Thailand? Here is how legal cases can be used to silence criticism, reporting, and public participation.

The Nation reports on the appointment by Thammanat Prompao and his Kla Tham Party of “the lawyer of controversial South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger, known as Ben Smith…&#82…

There’s something darkly comedic about what’s happening in Thailand right now. Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao is threatening to weaponize Interpol’s Red Notice system against journalists (inc...

Filistin Dışişleri ve Gurbetçiler Bakanı Dr. Farsin Aghabekian Şahin, Bangkok'ta Taylandlı Bakan Akara Prompao ile bir araya geldi. İki ülke arasındaki iş birliğinin geliştirilmesi ele alındı. Şahin, Filistin halkının en temel ihtiyacının insan onurunun korunması ve toplumsal kalkınma olduğunu vurguladı. Taylandlı Bakan ise Filistin halkıyla dayanışma mesajı verdi, iş birliğine hazır olduklarını belirtti. #haberler

A leaked document purported to contain testimony by Prasert Jantararuangtong to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has intensified scrutiny of a government-linked memorandum of understanding (MOU) tied to a cryptocurrency-for-iris-scan project, with the senior politician insisting the contents do not implicate or harm Acting Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao, de facto leader of the Kla Tham Party. Prasert, secretary-general of the Pheu Thai Party and a former digital economy minister, said on Feb.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will summon acting Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao and acting Education Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat next week as witnesses in its investigation into the Worldcoin iris-scan project, which reportedly collected biometric data from around 1.2 million Thai citizens in exchange for digital currency. Both were witnesses to a March 27, 2024, memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and Singapore-based Prime Opportunity Fund VCC for a pilot project to develop the Thailand International Digital Business and Finance Center (TIDC).

Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao and former Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong skipped a lower house Committee on National Security meeting meant to clarify their links to people under investigation for scam operations in Cambodia and Thailand. Thammanat admitted knowing Benjamin Mauerberger, a South African adviser to Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen linked to a $1.5 billion Chinese-Cambodian money-laundering network under investigation by the U.S.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong to submit a formal written report regarding allegations linking him to scam center operations in Thailand and Cambodia. Vorapak is preparing to hold a press briefing this week to provide full details. He has also been summoned by the House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy, and National Reform to clarify his previous role as a board adviser to BIC Bank, a subsidiary of Cambodia’s BIC Group.