MFP member alleges death threats from Pheu Thai Party employee

Move Forward Party (MFP) Rakchanok Srinork yesterday revealed she received death threats from an employee of former Pheu Thai Party MP Wanchalerm Ubumrung.

The Bang Born district of Bangkok MP took her first steps on the political ladder in May’s General Election. Her victory was a surprise because the area was previously a safe Pheu Thai Party seat under Wanchalerm.

Voters stated that her close relationship with the area’s residents played a crucial role in securing her victory. During the election campaign, Rakchanok’s unique approach to connecting with voters gained attention on Thai social media. She and her team engaged with voters in different residential areas and promoted MFP policies on pushbikes.

Despite the electoral defeat, Wanchalerm displayed good sportsmanship by congratulating Rakchanok. Rakchanok reciprocated the gesture, expressing her respect for him as a senior politician. Wanchalerm continued his community engagements even though he lost his Parliamentary seat.

However, not all Pheu Thai Party supporters took the defeat gracefully.

Recently, a Thai man claiming to be an employee of Wanchalerm shared a picture on Facebook, showing Rakchanok lying on her back during a meeting in Parliament on her phone. In the caption, he accused her of disrespecting Parliamentary proceedings.

“What is this place? Parliament or theatre? Please respect the place. I have a headache when seeing this.”

Rakchanok responded to the post on Facebook.

“Why does Wanchalerm’s employee always have problems with me? Bro (addressing Wanchalerm), when you do something good, I help you spread it to the public. It happened many times when I was an MP candidate until I acquired the position.

“In the picture, I was looking up the Regulations of the Parliamentary Assembly (2020) on my phone and there are no rules prohibiting me from doing so. Bro, you used to sit there before. Could you please teach your employee that you can feel stiff if sitting still in a chair for a long time like that?”

Rakchanok added that she works for the people seven days a week and says she is confident that her endeavours are worthy of her salary paid by Thailand’s taxpayers.

Rakchanok suspects that the person who took the picture of her lying down might be a member of the Palang Pracharath Party, who usually sit nearby her in Parliament.

Rackchanok later shared that the man personally contacted her and threatened to harm her. She also posed a screenshot of the conversation on social media. In the conversation, the man said…

“Delete the post. I want you. Do not blame me if anything happens. If I am gonna do something, it will be hurtful. If you still love your life and are scared to die, follow what I tell you, delete it immediately!”

Rakchanok replied…

“He is now threatening to kill me. If anything happens, the public will know. Wanchalerm, you are a good person and always assist people. But if your employee is like this, and you ignore it, people will misunderstand you.”

As of now, Wanchalerm has not addressed the issue or taken any action regarding his employee’s behaviour.

Many netizens have encouraged Rakchanok to file a complaint against the man for using a picture of her without permission, citing the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).