The Interior Ministry has set up an ethics committee to investigate permanent secretary Suthipong Juljarern for allegedly insulting and humiliating a junior official during a recent meeting of ministry officials, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday.
The incident occurred on Dec 27 during a live Zoom broadcast between the Interior Ministry in Bangkok and province officials. In the clip, Mr Suthipong scolded his subordinate, asking where he graduated from and called him "stupid" and "dumb" several times.
A video of the broadcast has been widely shared on social media, resulting in Mr Suthipong being widely criticised, with detractors saying his remarks were inappropriate and unethical.
Mr Wissanu said he informed yesterday's cabinet meeting that the Interior Ministry had set up a committee to investigate Mr Suthipong for an alleged breach of the ministry's code of ethics.
The committee is chaired by former interior permanent secretary Wiboon Sa-nguanpong and its investigation is underway, he said.
If Mr Suthipong were found to be in breach of ethics, an investigation report would be forwarded to a disciplinary committee. If he were also found to have committed a criminal offence, the report would be forwarded for legal processing, Mr Wissanu said.
Mr Wissanu said there is no time frame for how long the investigation would take. A penalty, if any, would be recommended by the committee, which may just be a reprimand, he added.