Pirongrong Ramasoota, a member of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, has been sentenced to two years in jail for dereliction of duty arising from a complaint filed by True Digital Group.
In handing down its ruling on Thursday, the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, said Ms Pirongrong had shown an intention to cause damage to the telecom conglomerate. That amounted to dereliction of duty under Section 157 of the Criminal Code.
Ms Pirongrong maintained that she was simply doing her duty by issuing a warning about digital platform operators inserting commercials into free-to-air television broadcasts.
The two-year jail term came with no suspension. The court later granted her bail with a 300,000-baht surety pending an appeal, on condition that she not leave the country.
As a result, Ms Pirongrong can maintain her status as a member of the regulator’s board.
“Thank you for all your support,” she said briefly after walking out of the courthouse in Bangkok following the ruling.
True Digital Group is a subsidiary of True Corporation, part of the Charoen Pokphand agribusiness, retail and media conglomerate, and operates the streaming platform TrueID.
The dispute started in 2023 when the NBTC received complaints from people that TrueID was carrying advertisements on digital TV channels on its platform.
Ms Pirongrong, who chaired the regulator’s broadcasting subcommittee, ordered the acting NBTC deputy secretary-general to notify 127 radio and TV broadcast licence holders that True Digital was not permitted to operate the over-the-top (OTT) service.
The notification also reminded them of the must-carry principle that requires all platforms to carry free-to-air channels with no advertising disruptions.
In March 2024, True filed a complaint against the NBTC and Ms Pirongrong, claiming the warning had harmed its reputation and partnerships with TV channel providers.
At the time of the notification, it said, the regulator had yet to issue any rules regarding OTT platforms, so TrueID did not have to apply for permission to operate an OTT service.
True Digital said the notification might have led broadcasters to believe that the company was illegally operating an OTT service and might not be allowed to carry their content on its platform, although the notification was not sent directly to the company.
Ms Pirongrong told Thai PBS in March last year that she had performed her duty in fairness to protect consumers, with no intention to single out True Digital. She said another company had also been warned but she declined to name it.
Saree Aungsomwang, secretary-general of the Thailand Consumers Council, said she and other supporters did not expect the ruling to go against Ms Pirongrong but they had to respect the judges’ decision.
#savepirongrong was among the most popular hashtags on the X platform on Thursday as people have been offering support to her.
Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapeuck, chairman of the NBTC board, said that if Ms Pirongrong decides to stop performing her duties at some point in the future, it could create some problems as it would reduce the board membership from seven to six.
In that case, he said, the chairman would be required to vote twice to break any 3:3 ties on crucial issues.
“The chairman must inevitably cast a double vote to finalise the resolution which may draw criticism from the public that the chairman voted twice,” he added.
A source in NBTC office who requested anonymity said that under the Frequency Allocation Act, the board needs a minimum of five commissioners to function.
The next meeting of the NBTC board is scheduled for Feb 14.
The source also indicated that while there is no order for Ms Pirongrong to stop performing her duties while she appeals, there could be possible legal risks if she votes on any agenda item related to True Corporation.
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