Retired Army officer General Boonlert Kaewprasit and the newspaper's upcountry news editor Naowarat Suksamran told the Labour Court how Sermsuk was tipped off by a news source and got editorial approval before having his story published.

The newspaper ran a retraction following a legal threat and a strong denial from the government. It also sacked Sermsuk on grounds that he neglected to verify the pertinent details in the report. Sermsuk petitioned the Labour Court to order Post Publishing Co to pay Bt17 million in damages and release his contributions of Bt623,000 to the newspaper's provident fund.

Boonlert said he introduced Sermsuk to Sawang Veerametheekul, the source of the information and an adviser to the Mahachon Party. "To this day, Sawang has insisted that the story about the runway cracks was accurate at the time of publication," Boonlert said.

Naowarat said the editorial department went ahead with the story because it would have an impact on public safety even though no government leaders could be reached for reaction before publication.