The Third Army Region has set up a committee to investigate an army officer who allegedly raised his middle finger at group of People Go Network activists when they went to Phayao provincial hall on Tuesday (March 6) to petition the governor to drop charges against Ban Doi Thevada farmers.
During the brief rally in front of the provincial hall, an army officer, later identified as Col Thinchart Sutthirak, gestured at the activist group by raising his middle finger. The officer’s image in the act of insulting gesture was later posted in the social media.
Asked about the incident, Lt-Gen Vichak Siribansop, commander of the Third Army Region, said he was aware of the incident and offered his apology to the activists, the people and the media who were at the scene.
He said that the army officer in question might feel frustrated and might be unable to control his temper.
However, he added that a panel had been set up to investigate the incident which, he noted, should not take more than three days.
The officer, Col Thinchart Sutthirak, however, claimed he didn’t intentionally raised his middle finger at the activist group “but he was just swinging his hand”
“Please take a better look at the clip. I didn’t raise fingers. You barely see fingers being raised in the video. I didn’t intend to raise my finger. If I did, it should be clearly seen. I didn’t chide at anybody,” Post Today online quosted the colonel as saying.