The court has accepted the defamation case filed by "Big Joke" against former close subordinate Pol Col Pakpoom over defamatory statements made in a television interview, scheduling an evidence review for 20 April 2027 GMT+7.
At the Criminal Court at 11:00 hrs on 17 Jul 2016 GMT+7, the court convened to hear a preliminary ruling on case number A.107/2569, in which Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, known as "Big Joke" and former deputy national police chief, filed a lawsuit against Pol Col Pakpoom Pismay, former deputy commander of the investigation unit of the Provincial Police Region 4 and a former close subordinate, for defamation by advertising.
The defendant gave interviews on multiple television programs alleging that the plaintiff repeatedly assaulted subordinates causing injuries, which damaged the plaintiff's reputation. Therefore, the plaintiff brought the case to court seeking punishment for the defendant's offense.
The court reviewed the plaintiff's evidence at the preliminary stage and found that the defendant’s televised interviews suggested that a superior officer had physically abused subordinates, distorting facts and blaming subordinates.
In some interviews, the defendant explicitly named Pol Lt Col Krit Pariyaket, a former close subordinate of Pol Gen Surachate, as the victim and claimed to have witnessed the incidents twice. Although the defendant did not directly name Pol Gen Surachate, the court considered the context of the interviewer’s questions and the defendant’s answers would lead viewers and listeners to understand the person referred to was Pol Gen Surachate, known as "Big Joke" or "Deputy Joke."
The interviews effectively asserted that the plaintiff was responsible for assaulting subordinates and blamed them, regardless of the truth of these statements. Public dissemination of such claims would lead the general public to view the plaintiff as an immoral, unlawful superior officer, resulting in damage to his reputation and causing him to be despised or hated.
The court found the plaintiff’s evidence at the preliminary hearing sufficiently credible to accept the case. The court ordered the case to proceed and scheduled both parties to review evidence and examine witnesses on 20 April 2027.