Doctor sacked for opposing govt's dispersal of protesters

Doctor sacked for opposing govt's dispersal of protesters

A Bangkok doctor has been sacked for signing a petition asking for authorities not to use violence against protesters.

The female doctor at Mongkutwattana Hospital in Bangkok's Lak Si district has been sacked by director Maj Gen Rianthong Nanna for joining 386 other doctors in signing a statement calling for the government and authorities not to use violence against pro-democracy demonstrators.

Maj Gen Rianthong, who is known to be a staunch royalist, on Sunday posted on his Facebook page that he had sacked Dr Jarosdao Rimphanitchayakit from her position on Mongkutwattana Hospital's medical staff, effective from 11.19pm on Saturday.

He said Dr Jarosdao was fired because the hospital has a clear policy forbidding the employment of anyone opposed to the monarchy. 

The director wrote that the protesters had offended the monarchy, and firing water cannon to disperse them was not an act of violence. Authorities had taken action step by step to break up the demonstation, he said, and had not used unreasonable force. 

On Sunday, Dr Jarosdao wrote a sad farewell to her patients on her own Facebook page. 

"From now on I will no longer see you all at room number 9 on the 3rd floor of Building B. Thank you for giving me a chance to treat you. You are all my best teachers. Your relatives are wonderful. They gave me moral support in my everyday work."

She thanked Maj Gen Rianthong for giving her the opportunity to work as a thoracic surgeon at Mongkutwattana Hospital, where she had gained valuable experience for over a year.

The doctor also thanked her co-workers, adding that from now on, she would forge her own career path.

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