Panthongtae admits voice in audio clip is Thaksin's

Panthongtae admits voice in audio clip is Thaksin's

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's son Panthongtae Shinawatra has admitted the voice of one of the men in a controversial audio clip is that of his father.

Panthongtae: ‘Voice of my father’

But he said it was cut before being posted onto YouTube.

"I have been my father's son for more than 30 years. I am confident that it is surely the voice of my father," Mr Panthongtae posted on his Facebook page yesterday.

The clip posted on YouTube late last month contained a recording of a conversation allegedly between Thaksin and Deputy Defence Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa.

He said he had asked his father about the audio clip and Thaksin also confirmed some remarks in it while he did not confirm others.

Mr Panthongtae said Thaksin told him that the conversation was actually longer than the YouTube version making the rounds in Thailand, and had been cut.

He said he doubted whether the clip was edited to distort what the speakers wanted to say.

Mr Panthongtae said he will take the clip with him and play it to his father when he travels to Beijing to meet him today.

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has told his subordinates to steer clear of the audio clip controversy, a defence source said yesterday.

The source said Gen Prayuth told a meeting of army personnel on Tuesday that the matter did not concern the army because he had not participated in the conversation and had only been referred to in the clip.

He said he has no idea whether the audio clip is authentic or not.

The army chief was quoted as saying that Gen Yuthasak had denied he was the man in the audio clip and the army should "just do its duty" and not involve itself in the matter.

A high-ranking source said Supreme Commander Tanasak Patimapragorn phoned the three armed forces chiefs and told them to stay calm and carry on doing their jobs.

Gen Tanasak was quoted as saying the audio clip was an external factor that should not have any impact on the armed forces.

The source said Gen Tanasak did not know if the clip was genuine.

The supreme commander phoned Gen Prayuth, navy chief Surasak Rounroengrom and air force chief ACM Prajin Jantong on Tuesday, the source added.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is also defence minister, will go to her office at the Defence Ministry for the first time at 11am today.

She will have lunch with Gen Yuthasak, the supreme commander and the armed forces chiefs there.

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