Thamanat denies making officer kowtow

Thamanat denies making officer kowtow

Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow claims he is the victim, not the aggressor.
Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow claims he is the victim, not the aggressor.

Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow has denied he made a parliament police officer kowtow to him after an argument with a member of his entourage.

Capt Thamanat was responding to reports that the people who were with him had an argument with a parliament police officer on Monday when the House was in session to deliberate the national budget bill.

As Capt Thamanat and his team arrived, the policeman denied them entry, enforcing public health regulations that limit the number of people allowed to enter with a cabinet minister to one.

It was reported the deputy minister was upset and later called a director connected to parliament security to meet him. He reprimanded the director for not treating him and his team with dignity and instructed the policeman to kowtow to him as a way of repenting.

Capt Thamanat said on Tuesday he had only two people with him when he arrived for the debate.

He admitted the policeman and his team had argued but said this only happened after the officer had spoken sternly to them.

He said he later met the officer concerned and the director of parliament security for clear-the-air talks which ended with his team and the policeman apologising to each other with a wai.

Capt Thamanat insisted the policeman did not kowtow to him, adding: "That would have been an overreaction."

He insisted if anyone had been on the receiving end, it was he and his team, saying that he was often aware of people watching him with distrusting eyes and assuming he was the aggressor whenever friction occurred.

A source in parliament said the policeman had asked to meet Capt Thamanat to offer his apology.

The deputy minister advised him to take a gentler tone when talking to people from now on.

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