The Criminal Court dismissed "Big Joke's" defamation lawsuit against "Big Tao" concerning an interview suggesting a subordinate was psychologically harmed to the point of depression. The court ruled the case lacked sufficient grounds.
At 10:00 a.m. on 16 September 2024 GMT+7, the Criminal Court held a preliminary hearing for case number A.1025/2026, in which Police General Surachate Hakparn, former Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, authorized his personal lawyer, Sanyaphatchara Samart, to sue Police Major General Jaroonkiat Pankaew, Deputy Commander of the Crime Suppression Division, for public defamation. The case stemmed from Jaroonkiat's interview alleging that Surachate slapped a subordinate ranked Police Lieutenant Colonel and emotionally abused another subordinate to the point of depression, damaging Surachate's reputation. After examining the plaintiff's evidence at this stage, the court found the case lacked sufficient grounds to proceed and ruled to dismiss the lawsuit.