PPP member alleges soldiers threaten him

Sombat Wanthong, 44, an aide to a former Thai Rak Thai party MP Chaisri Kira and a member of the PPP, said the five men, dressed like soldiers, had stopped his car at 9.30pm on Friday night after he had been doing campaign work. The men tried to search his vehicle and pointed guns at his head, but he managed to escape, Sombat said.

A complaint was filed at the Patum Rajwongsa district police station.

According to Sombat, the incident occurred after he went on the hustings attacking the junta for not lifting martial law in Patum Rajwongsa district. He told the gathering that other parties were at an advantage as long as martial law remained as the PPP was seen as an enemy of the junta. He added that some soldiers might have been in the crowd and upset by what he said.

Army Region 2 commander Lt-General Sujit Sithiprapha denied that any of his men had been involved in such an incident and said Sombat might have an ulterior motive for his claim, but he declined to go into the matter further.

"That's what the PPP is like. The military works within its bounds and doesn't involve itself with politics. It has never set up any checkpoint or done anything to politicians," he said. "We're innocent: we have never done such a thing."

The Nation