A public hospital director accused of adultery with a nurse has insisted he was not aware she was still living with her husband, but admitted to engaging in rough sex with the woman, saying she encouraged it.
The man has been transferred from the tambon health promotion hospital where he worked to the Nonthaburi public health office pending an investigation.
Thanakit Jitareerat, vice-minister for public health, invited the accused civil servant to give his side of the story on Friday.
During questioning, the man claimed he was not aware that the woman had not broken up with her husband. She had told him that she had ended the relationship, he said.
The 40-year-old director, who confirmed he was single, has submitted documents to explain the allegations. They would be forwarded to the permanent secretary for public health, said the vice-minister.
The story emerged on Thursday when social media crusader Guntouch “Gun” Jompalang brought a 30-year-old man to the Ministry of Public Health to tell his story. Mr Guntouch has asked the ministry to determine whether the affair constituted an ethical violation by a public servant.
The complainant said that his 28-year-old wife and her lover had engaged in sado-masochistic sex. She had been chained and handcuffed and there were traces of hot candle wax on her body. Candle wax was also found on her nursing uniform.
Mr Thanakit, who received the complaint, said the hospital director told him he had met the nurse at a seminar on Sept 4 last year. They chatted and exchanged photos via Line. The relationship gradually developed and they began having sex in May.
The man said they had sex just four times before their relationship was exposed. The chains and handcuffs were the woman’s idea and they only used them twice, he added.
The man said he was aware that the woman was married and had a child but was told that she had ended the relationship with her husband.
Mr Thanakit said the man would contact the woman to confirm the accuracy of the statement.
The vice-minister said it was too early to conclude that the hospital director and the nurse committed adultery as alleged. A fact-finding investigation is expected to take about two weeks.
Mr Thanakit said authorities would consider what to do if the man was found to have committed a breach of laws or rules governing civil servants’ behaviour.
The hospital director was not a doctor, he said, in response to a question about whether the incident would affect the confidence of people using health promotion hospitals.