Police prepare to call in Rukchanok, operator of Godd Dam FB page

Police are preparing to summon People's Party list-MP Rukchanok Srinork and the operator of the Godd Dam Facebook page to acknowledge defamation charges over an allegedly forged bank transfer slip purporting to show a 7-million-baht "tea money" payment to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

The complaint was filed by Mr Anutin, who is also interior minister, after the Godd Dam page published the slip, which portrayed him as the recipient of the payment. Ms Rukchanok later shared the post.

Pol Col Rattathon Ekthitikulpat, superintendent of Thong Lor police, said on Saturday investigators were waiting for testimony from one more witness for the complainant before issuing summonses.

The witness is expected to be questioned next week, after which investigators should have sufficient evidence to proceed, he said.

Ms Rukchanok and the page operator, identified as Chairat Rekhawatthana, 26, face preliminary charges of defamation by publication. Mr Chairat, who is being detained in connection with an earlier case, is expected to be formally notified of the charge in prison.

Pol Col Rattathon said there was no need for further coordination with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau at this stage, given the evidence already gathered.

Separately, Kasikornbank has filed a police complaint over the alleged forgery of a transfer slip bearing its name and The Wisdom logo.

According to a police report disclosed on Saturday, the bank filed the complaint at Bang Sue police station on Oct 26 after its Customer Complaint Centre examined the document.

The slip purported to show a transfer of 7 million baht on Oct 31, 2023, at 3.03pm. The bank said verification confirmed the slip had not been generated through its system. It denied any involvement and warned the fabricated document could mislead the public, damage its reputation and potentially facilitate fraud.