Attorney General meets with Police over audio clip between Paetongtarn, Hun Sen
The Deputy Attorney General confirmed that the case involving the Hun Sen audio clip is being handled carefully and will be presented to the Attorney General for consideration as an international case. The Prime Minister may be called in for questioning, but no charges have been filed yet as discussions are ongoing.
Watcharin Phanurat, Deputy Attorney General of the Office of the Attorney General, revealed that following a complaint from the Deputy Secretary-General of the Prime Minister’s Office regarding an audio clip of a conversation between the Prime Minister and Hun Sen, President of the Cambodian Senate, there are legal concerns regarding whether the incident constitutes a domestic or international offense.
As a result, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (Cyber Police) have forwarded the case to the Attorney General to be treated as an international case. Once classified as such, it falls solely under the authority of the Attorney General.
As a result, the Attorney General has ordered the establishment of a task force, assigning the Director of the Cyber Crime Investigation Division 1 (CCID 1) as the responsible officer, with prosecutors from the Investigation Office joining the investigation to guide the process.
Today, a meeting was held between the prosecutors and CCID 1 to discuss the direction of the investigation, including which witnesses to call for questioning, as well as the possibility of summoning the Prime Minister for questioning. However, calling Hun Sen to testify remains difficult.
Watcharin further stated, "At present, no charges have been filed against anyone, as it is merely an allegation. We must assess whether the charges are valid. If the Attorney General finds merit, legal action will proceed. If not, the case will be dismissed and concluded."
Pol Maj Gen Sirivat Deepo, Chief of CCID 1 and Deputy Spokesperson of the Police, discussed the meeting with prosecutors to determine the next steps in collecting evidence. He emphasised that the investigation will proceed according to the Attorney General’s authority. "The investigation will proceed based on the Attorney General’s assessment, and we will act strictly according to the law," he said.
In this case, Somkid Chueakhong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Prime Minister for Political Affairs, filed a complaint with the Cyber Police. He stated that the audio clip in question had caused division among the Thai public, leading him to take legal action under national security laws for its dissemination. He further expressed that Hun Sen gained a political advantage from the clip and used it to bolster his position, which is why he decided to pursue the case using Thai law.
The tensions between Thailand and Cambodia began rising in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed during a skirmish, with the situation steadily escalating. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra attempted to de-escalate the situation by directly speaking with Hun Sen on June 15.
A partial recording of the call was initially leaked, in which Paetongtarn is heard criticising a Thai general and showing deference to Hun Sen, who later released the full audio of their conversation.
