Sombat Boonngamanong, co-founder of Gean Party, has demanded to see Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to ask him why his bank accounts remained frozen.
He appeared at Government House on Friday wearing a shabby shirt and pants showing empty pockets to make a point.
A day after the May 19 military coup four years ago, Mr Sombat, a red shirt and activist, was on the list the people summoned by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) but he did not report himself.
The NCPO later froze banks accounts of people who defied the order and Mr Sombat was caught a few days later.
The case against him for defying the junta’s order ended in the Supreme Court and he was ordered to pay a fine of 3,000 baht. However, his bank accounts remained frozen.
He submitted a complaint about this issue with the Damrongtham centre, the channel provided by this government to accept people’s complaints, in May this year but has heard nothing.
“Of course, I’m in trouble. I have a daughter to take care of. She’s studying in college and has to work to support herself. While it’s good for young people to do so, as a father I think I have the right to take care of her.
“All I want is for the ban on my bank accounts to be lifted so I can perform a father’s duties and move forward. Besides, as the Gean party leader, I am required to open a bank account,” he said, explaining the reason why he needed to meet Gen Prayut.
Officials at the Damrongtham centre told Mr Sombat that after he filed the complaint, his case had been sent to the prime minister, who told officials to send it to NCPO’s secretary general (army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong), which they already did.
Mr Sombat asked whether he had to go see Gen Apirat and was told to wait for officials to coordinate with responsible officials. He finally agreed to leave after the officials gave him the number of the document so he could follow up on the case later.