KHON KAEN - Parents and alumni of Ban Phai Suksa School have called for the removal of embattled municipal mayor Premsak Piayura from the school's education committee over a reported scandal involving a teenage girl.
They submitted a letter to the school's director, Wathanyu Phuchada, on Thursday asking for removal of Mr Premsak, alias “Mor (Dr) Prem’, from the chairmanship of the school’s education panel. They also demanded that he end his role as a special lecturer at the school.
The move came after images of Mr Premsak sitting with the young girl, a Mathayom 5 student, with 400,000 baht cash in front of them at the girl’s house, in what looked like a Thai engagement ceremony, went viral online. Mr Premsak is a married man.
Alumni representative Detkhamron Singkhibutr said a recent news story featured the Ban Phai mayor and the teenage girl having their wrists linked together with white thread and the cash piled in front of them. This had prompted the alumni association to look into the matter, and they found there were good grounds to the story.
The association deemed Mr Premsak’s conduct was improper as he is married and has children, Mr Detkhamron said.
School alumni had therefore resolved to ask for the removal of the Ban Phai mayor from the chairmanship of the school’s education panel, and the end of his role as a special lecturer, as his conduct brought shame to the school and tarnished the dignity of Ban Phai district, Mr Detkhamron said.
Mr Wathanyu said he would call an urgent meeting with the school’s education panel to discuss the issue, and then forward the resolution to the Office of the Education Zone 25, which oversees the school, for a final say.
The school itself had no authority to remove the chairman of the education panel, he said. (continues below)
A representative of parents and alumni of Ban Phai Suksa School in Khon Kaen, right, submits a petition to the school director on Thursday asking for the removal of Premsak Piayura from the school's education committee over a scandal involving a teenage girl. (Photo by Jakkrapan Nathanri)
Meanwhile, police handling the case involving Mr Premsak allegedly forcing a news reporter to strip down to his underwear and illegally detaining five reporters began questioning witnesses on Thursday.
Pol Col Charas Chandaeng, chief of Ban Phai police station, said municipal officials, particularly those who witnessed the incident, were called in for questioning.
Mr Premsak, a former Khon Kaen MP, is accused of ordering four municipal officials to strip the pants off Korsit Kongchum, a reporter for the Thai-language Daily News, in front of four other Khon Kaen-based reporters in a locked room at the mayor’s office on Tuesday.
Mr Korsit and the other reporters were kept inside the room for about two hours before being allowed to leave. They later filed a police complaint against the mayor.
Mr Premsak was reportedly angry with a news story on the front page of the Daily News, in which he was pictured with the teenage girl and the money.
Pol Col Chamras said investigators would summon Mr Premsak to acknowledge charges after questioning witnesses and compiling the evidence. Offences in the case carried a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison and/or a fine of 6,000 baht, he said, adding the case could also be settled out of court.
On his Facebook page, Mr Premsak on Thursday posted a message lashing out at the media for publishing an article that caused damage to him before seeking his explanation. He questioned whether he had intimidated the media or the media had bullied him.
He said he was presented as being in the wrong by members of the media who only later questioned him about what they accused him of in a bid to expose his private life.
Public figures, be they politicians, cabinet ministers, businessmen or celebrities, and the public in general, were put at a disadvantage by the media, he wrote.
He said he had now freed himself from fear of the media, and urged people to no longer tolerate unfair treatment by the media. He said it was time for the media to undergo reform.