A Cambodian man arrested in Phnom Penh has claimed he was not the person who posted a fake news item about Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on a website.
Police questioned Heng Ratanak for more than six hours on Friday after taking the 21-year-old to Bangkok from Phnom Penh, where Cambodian security authorities had picked him up on Thursday at Thailand's request.
Siriwat Deepor, an investigator with the Technology Crime Suppression Division, said Heng Ratanak denied posting the fake story about the prime minister on a website that specialises in fake news.
The suspect claimed he had given his friend, identified only as Louis, also a Cambodian national, his credit card to create a clickbait-style article by promising that they could earn money from advertisements if it became popular, according to the investigator.
The page containing the clickbait-style article could not be opened on Friday but the real website, ratstas.com, is still online.
Heng Ratanak said he could not read and speak Thai and told officers he was willing to take authorities to the house of Mr Louis in Phnom Penh, Pol Col Siriwat added.
He is charged with posting a story in which Gen Prayut was reported to have told the public to fill their tanks with water if diesel prices were high. The prime minister denied making the statement.
The statement appeared convincing to some people familiar with Gen Prayut's sometimes offbeat sense of humour. He once suggested that rubber growers could try to sell their produce on Mars if they wanted higher prices.
Six Thais have also been arrested for sharing the story. They face charges under the Computer Crimes Act of disseminating false information through a computer system.
Police said the story was uploaded on May 23 in Cambodia and they contacted their Cambodian counterparts for help in capturing the perpetrator after an arrest warrant was issued.
Heng Ratanak faces a charge under the Computer Crimes Act of placing false information into a computer system. The charge carries a maximum jail term of five years and/or a fine up to 100,000 baht.
He has been released on bail requested by a diplomat at the Cambodian embassy and was ordered to return when police forward the case to the Criminal Court.
Pol Col Siriwat said the six Thais facing charges would have to answer them in court, even though they were said to have confessed to sharing the story. They reportedly claimed they had no ill intent.