AEC member sues Waiwut

As plaintiff, Assets Examination Committee (AEC) member Sak Korsaengrueng contends that Deputy Attorney-General Waiwut Lortrakul defamed him by using rude language to question his professionalism during a press conference in February.

The Criminal Court has scheduled July 21 for a hearing to determine whether the case merits judicial review.

The Sak-Waiwut litigation stemmed from differing legal opinions between the AEC and the Office of the Attorney-General relating to the prosecution review of the AEC's report on the lottery case involving 49 suspects, including former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

In his capacity as AEC spokesman, Sak criticised public prosecutors for trying to fault the report and prevent the AEC from completing its work.

Waiwut organised a press conference to portray Sak as professionally incompetent for questioning the prosecution review.

Sak retaliated by charging libel. Waiwut used rude words to characterise Sak, the writ said.

After lodging his suit, Sak said he waited three months for Waiwut to apologise but this did not happen. He said his suit was a private litigation between him and Waiwut and did not involve their agencies.