Suchart has filed a lawsuit against a reporter over allegations of accepting a 36 million baht bribe from a Finnish company. The executive editor of The Isaan Record affirmed strong morale and readiness to prove evidence in court.
Hathairat Phaholtap, executive editor of The Isaan Record, posted on her personal Facebook, Hathairat Phaholtap, explaining that she has indeed been sued today. This is not the first time she has faced stressful situations in her 23-year journalism career, especially during her time as a political and investigative reporter.
Anyone who has read the book #BecomingAListIOJournalist (still available at Saengdao Publishing and Shopee) would know she has endured a lot — including threats of assassination, abduction threats, being declared an enemy by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, accused of being a CIA agent’s wife, and many other allegations.
Being sued for defamation with a claim of 50 million baht in damages is therefore not unexpected.
The dissemination of the news that the Department of Special Investigation accused Suchart Chomklin of accepting a 36 million baht bribe from a Finnish company is not new. The news has been around for two years, and they wrote about the no-confidence debate on 24 Mar 2025 GMT+7.
However, the timing of their publication and reposting may have reopened Suchart’s wounds on the day he was called to have the vote recounted following the Chonburi district 1 election.
Frankly, the 50 million baht damage claim is impossible for us to pay even if we were to live 300 lifetimes. But perhaps he wants to silence us and stop us from pursuing this issue. We would stop if forest berry pickers received compensation and if the system for sending workers abroad to pick wild berries improved.
We thank friends and supporters for their encouragement through all channels, but please know that we are well and glad to be sued.
This means the suffering of forest berry pickers and the voices of Isaan people who have been wronged will be heard louder. Those close to us know that being sued as journalists is our ultimate aspiration.
So, no need to worry. We say, 'Let’s prove it in court, and let the truth be the truth — no underhanded dealings, please.' For those interested, the documentary Blood Berries will be coming soon.
Meanwhile, Thairath Online’s news team will continue to report developments in this case to ensure fairness for both parties.