The Thai authorities are going international in their battle on fake news about the ruling government.
And they are busting people locally for sharing stories deemed as damaging to the government.
They are even contacting international agencies to try and arrest a Thai woman in London for drawing connections between the Thai prime minister, his foremost deputy and airships and satellites.
Crime buster Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal – deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau – said yesterday that an arrest warrant has been issued for a woman called Wattana Ebbage (name transliterated from Thai) listed as running the Facebook page “KonthaiUK” out of London.
The Maj Gen is even preparing to ask Interpol to issue a red notice for the 56 year old woman.
The Facebook page published distorted and damaging “news” said Surachet that represented a threat to the security of Thailand.
The warrant was issued under computer crime guidelines.
The page features pictures of an airship and satellites interspersed with images of DPM Prawit Wongsuwan and PM Prayut Chan-ocha.
It suggested that the airship was purchased so it could be repaired. And claimed that billions had been spent on satellites that was part of a corrupt scheme.
Surachet reiterated what he had said in an interview earlier in the week that the world’s police forces were “One Team” and believed, like smashing call center gangs, this would be just another case.
It is believed seven people have been arrested for sharing the story. These are believed to be in Thailand.
Twenty others are subject to warrants for sharing the story too.
He also said that those arrested in another fake news case about fuel price rises would only be warned.
The Cambodian person who ran the website that suggested erroneously that Prayut had told the Thai public to fill up with water if they didn’t like price hikes, was arrested and faces jail.
The woman in the UK could face a similar fate if she came or was brought back to Thailand.
Surachet is known as Big Joke in the Thai media after a series of high profile busts on many different types of crime much utilizing technology. MD – EP
Big Joke goes after Thai woman in the UK after “damaging Facebook posts”
