Defence official hot on trail of CCTV 'culprits'
Defence permanent secretary General Sirichai Thanyasiri said yesterday he was close to finding the "culprits" who leaked pictures from closed-circuit TV cameras of an alleged meeting about funding small parties to run in the April 2 election.
"I expect to receive a fact-finding report identifying culprits in the next few days," Sirichai said. The controversy surrounding the pictures hit the media spotlight last week after Democrat Party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban presented them as evidence at a court hearing. The pictures were recorded on CCTV installed in the corridors leading to the office of caretaker Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura. They showed Thamarak conversing with the leader of a small party allegedly bankrolled by the Thai Rak Thai Party to contest the April 2 election. Thamarak denied any wrongdoing, saying the pictures were doctored to frame him. He also ordered Sirichai to launch an investigation into the matter. Sirichai said the investigative report would determine the identity of relevant defence officials and employees of a security company charged to do a test run of the CCTV. He said he would decide on penalties after studying the report. The pictures were classified and culprits responsible for the leak were liable to face disciplinary and criminal proceedings, he said.
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