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Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday that she had not done anything morally questionable while she was at a Bangkok hotel earlier this week.
"I did not have a meeting there. But as prime minister, I can meet anybody at a public place. It is not damaging," she said. "I am a woman, and I insist I did not do anything wrong."
When asked if she would take legal action against outspoken businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr for suggesting that she may have been party to misconduct, Yingluck said: "I will be patient. I believe people will carefully consider what he says."
On Thursday, Akeyuth told the press that he happened to run into the prime minister while he was at the Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday afternoon. He said that he had only seen the premier from a distance and 10 minutes after she left the premises he was attacked by a man.
"It could be because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something I should not have," he said.
Deputy government spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard said yesterday that he was suspicious about Akeyuth's claim that someone from Yingluck's security detail had attacked him, adding that there was a "hidden agenda" behind this allegation.
At the press conference, Akeyuth described his alleged assailant as an armed officer in plainclothes. Akeyuth claimed that the man was about to draw a handgun before his bodyguards came to his rescue. He added that the assailant fled after his bodyguards intervened.
"The assailant knows and is close to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra," Akeyuth said, adding that he would not file a police complaint.
Anusorn said Akeyuth had "plotted a good story", adding that his decision against filing a police complaint aroused suspicion. "If the attack was not a set up, maybe he was attacked because many people dislike him," the spokesman said.
He also rejected Akeyuth's theory that the alleged assailant was a man in uniform.
Akeyuth, a businessman who runs the politically oriented website Thai Insider, is well known for his staunch criticism of Thaksin - Yingluck's older brother.
He has also recently said that Yingluck was unsuitable for the premier's post and has also made comments about her that could be considered sexist against women from the North.
Meanwhile, national police chief General Priewpan Damapong yesterday urged Akeyuth to file a police complaint so his case can be investigated and the authorities can obtain pertinent information such as the examination of his wounds.
Priewpan said he did not think the alleged attack had anything to do with the prime minister's security detail. "The prime minister is a woman, so I don't think she would allow the use of violence," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung also rejected the claim that someone in the PM's security team was involved in the attack, adding that Akeyuth should not have tried to link Yingluck to this matter or tried to politicise it.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva called on the government to explain what happened in order to quell any suspicion that this matter has something to do with the premier.
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Sansiri chief met PM at hotel
Srettha Thavisin, president of listed property developer Sansiri Plc, yesterday confirmed rumours he met Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra last week at Bangkok's Four Seasons Hotel
The property tycoon told Thai Rath Online he met Ms Yingluck on Feb 8 at the hotel but the meeting involved six or seven other people and was not a one-to-one discussion.
They talked about several topics ranging from the general situation in the country to the economy, interest rates and financial matters, said Mr Srettha, who described the Four Seasons Hotel meeting as being more like "exchanging opinions".
"I'd like all sides to respect the prime minister. She is a lady and the prime minister of Thailand. Everything else was in accordance with her [recent] interviews [about the rumours of her visit to the hotel]," Mr Srettha said.
The appearance of the prime minister at the five-star hotel sparked public attention after former pyramid scheme operator Ekkayuth Anchanbutr claimed he was assaulted by the prime minister's security guard while he was sitting at a coffee shop in the hotel.
Mr Ekkayuth said he was assaulted because he saw the prime minister going upstairs at the hotel and coming back down and that he could name the individuals he saw with her, which could unnerve a lot of people.
Mr Ekkayuth, who in the past led a campaign against the Thaksin Shinawatra administration, said he was assaulted by a man in uniform shortly after Ms Yingluck left the hotel.
Parliament was thrown into chaos on Thursday when the opposition Democrat Party demanded an explanation from Ms Yingluck about why she failed to attend a House meeting on Feb 8, choosing instead to visit the Four Seasons.
If the premier keeps silent about the purpose of the visit, she may be a further target of rumours that she might have held secret talks at the hotel on "vested interests" in state flood prevention plans, Democrat spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said.
Ms Yingluck earlier said that as prime minister she was "free to meet anyone" at the hotel, which is a public place, and insisted there was nothing irregular about her visit. http://www.bangko...m-at-hotel
A political activist claims a senior politician ordered the deletion of CCTV footage taken on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel during Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s visit on Feb 8, reports said on Saturday.
Taikorn Polsuwan's Facebook page
Taikorn Polsuwan, a leader of the independent political group Isan Ku Chart and a former member of the Democrat Party, claimed on his Facebook page that the deletion was ordered by a “deputy prime minister”.
He claimed the deletion was ordered because what appeared in the footage could lead to the replacement of the prime minister if it were made public.
Mr Thaikorn, who had a major role in collecting evidence that led to the dissolution of the Thai Rak Thai party in 2007, cited a high-profile source who works at the hotel.
According to Mr Thaikorn's account, the footage showed a big and tall man walking into a hotel room shortly before 2pm and a woman entering the same room shortly after 2pm. The same woman left before 6pm, and about 20 minutes after that the man was seen walking out.
Further verification would be made to identify the man and the woman in the footage, he said.
Mr Thaikorn's accusation came on the same day that Srettha Thavisin, president of the SET-listed property developer Sansiri Plc, admitted that he met Ms Yingluck on the seventh floor of the hotel on Feb 8 with six or seven others to discuss several topics including the political situation and the economy.
The meeting took place from 2pm to 4pm, the time that Ms Yingluck was supposed to have been attending a House session.
The premier has been under heavy pressure from the opposition to explain her presence at the hotel and to clarify if the meeting had anything to do with a conflict of interest.
A Pheu Thai Party spokesman said that Ms Yingluck had met with the businessmen at the hotel solely to gather information to help the government run the country.
Chalitrat Chantharubeksa called on opposition MPs, who have been hounding the premier over the meeting, to work in more constructive ways in monitoring the government.
Mr Srettha, meanwhile, denied some local media reports that the Four Seasons event was a one-on-one meeting, arranged to sound him out about taking a high-profile position with a state enterprise.
The meeting became an issue after businessman Ekkayuth Anchanbutr, a longtime foe of the premier's brother Thaksin Shinawatra, claimed he was assaulted by Thaksin's former security guard while he was sitting at a coffee shop in the hotel.
Mr Ekkayuth claimed he was assaulted because he saw the prime minister going upstairs at the hotel and coming back down and that he could name those he saw with her, which could cause a lot of embarrassment.
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