Thai diplomat in Cairo catfight probe

Thai diplomat in Cairo catfight probe

A female Thai diplomat accused of assaulting an Egyptian woman in Cairo, Egypt, will be recalled to Bangkok to give evidence to a fact-finding inquiry examining the alleged altercation, permanent secretary for foreign affairs Seehasak Puangketkaew said on Tuesday.

Ms Kakanang is listed on the Thai Embassy website as first secretary for consular affairs in Cairo, a position which normally carries diplomatic immunity.

Mr Seehasak expressed remorse over the incident and said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is examining the facts as a matter of urgency.

The ministry has ordered the staff member in question - Kakanang Amaranand, first secretary at the Thai embassy in Cairo - to return to Thailand for a probe, he said.

Officials will take disciplinary action against her if she is found to have acted inappropriately for her diplomatic status, Mr Seehasak said. 

The Egypt Independent reported on Sunday that Ms Kakanang verbally and physically assaulted lawyer Rana Ashraf during a night out at an exclusive five-star hotel in Cairo.

The report said that the lawyer was left with a black eye, a cut on her head, scratches all over her body and four deep bite marks in her arm after the incident, which occurred last Thursday evening.

The Thai envoy insisted that she had acted in self-defence.

But Mrs Ashraf and her husband Mohamed Sameh told the Egyptian newspaper that the altercation took place after they asked Ms Kakanang her name. They claimed Ms Kakanang had been drinking heavily, bragging about her diplomatic immunity and criticising Egypt before the assault. 

Mr Seehasak played down the incident, describing it as a personal matter that had nothing to do with relations between Thailand and Egypt.  

Thai ambassador to Egypt Chalit Manityakul had already summoned Ms Kakanang to explain what happened that night and her side of the story was different from what the couple told the Egyptian media, Jakkrit Srivali, deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said.

Mr Jakkrit did not elaborate on the contents of Ms Kakanang’s testimony, but said the ambassador had also invited the couple to give their account of the incident.

He added that the ministry decided to summon Ms Kakanang to Bangkok to clarify the issue and for her own safety, after reports of intimidating and threatening messages against Thai diplomats in Cairo. The ministry did not want the situation to escalate, Mr Jakkrit said. 

Mr Jakkrit earlier vouched for Ms Kakanang. He said he knows her personally, and insisted that she is polite and well-mannered. Mr Chalit also said she was not the kind of person who drinks to the point of losing-self control. 

According to an initial embassy report, Ms Kakanang said she acted in self-defence throughout the incident. She said she went to the hotel with an embassy colleague who knew the couple. She denied having met them before.

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