PM's Office to sue for damage to Government House

The compound fence and an elevator in main building 2 were damaged. People also people intruded in the 44th, 41st, and 26th buildings and toilets were damaged, office worker Suthichat Ammarthin told Dusit police.

It would take time and a seven-figure sum to repair the 5,000squaremetre yard and garden, which was ruined, he said. The office was preparing to sue the PAD for this damage.

Suthichat said workers were very concerned, as they had to prepare the site for an event to be presided over by HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn on August 30.

He urged PAD protesters to move out of the premises and to show respect to national property.

An inspection found that the door¬frame to a personal suite of Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya at the NBT compound, which she uses during occasional taping, was also damaged. But no damage was found inside the room and nothing was stolen.

Hard disks of computers recording security camera footage were removed. Most damage was done on the first, second and sixth floors of the main NBT building.

NBT's acting director Suriyong Hunthasarn said the screen black¬outs caused it to lose between Bt1.5 million to Bt2 million in revenue.

A source at Government House reported that after police tried to disperse the protest at 3am yesterday, they managed to occupy the area behind the Thai Khu Fa and the Santi Maitri buildings. So, PAD protesters put up iron fences along a canal behind the Thai Khu Fa to separate them from police.

While many booed police during their morning lineup, some protesters urged officers to go home and not to hurt people and asked for drinking water.

But police handing them water urged the protesters to go home because "police don't want to hurt people".

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Pol Corporal Jirasak Siangyai told reporters he was detained by PAD protesters while delivering food to fellow police providing security at Government House on Tuesday.

But protesters say Jirasak, who wore a semiprivate uniform, walked past to spy on them. Jirasak was later taken away by PAD guards. On the way he was slapped in the head and kicked by nearby protesters.

The officer filed a complaint of ille¬gal detention at Dusit police station later yesterday.