Man, 29 Arrested For Threading the Life of Thailand’s Prime Minister

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin stated today that he received a police report notifying him that a man had made a death threat online because he is dissatisfied with the Pheu Thai party’s failure to follow election pledges.

On Tuesday morning, a 29-year-old man was arrested for reportedly threatening Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin‘s life in a tweet on the X platform, formerly Twitter.

Krisada Panbanphaeo was apprehended at his home in Bangkok’s Chom Thong district, on Soi Suan Luang.

According to authorities, Mr Krisada posted a picture of the prime minister on the X platform on Sunday, along with harsh words demanding the death of the “tall” man in the picture and offering a prize.

When police apprehended him, he allegedly admitted to posting the images and messages and expressed disappointment that his favoured political party had not kept its electoral pledges.

He apologised and stated that he was willing to accept the consequences.

Police charged him with threatening another person in violation of Section 392 of the Criminal Code. The maximum penalty for the offence is a month in prison and/or a fine of 10,000 baht.

Thailand’s citizens approve of Srettha

Meanwhile, according to a Nida Poll opinion poll, a vast majority of people are pleased with Srettha Thavisin’s abroad tours and overall performance as prime minister during his two months in office.

From October 24-25, telephone interviews were conducted by NADA with 1,310 persons aged 18 and over from diverse levels of education, occupations, and incomes around the country to assemble their perspectives on Mr Srettha’s visits to several countries since becoming office.

When asked what they were most interested in from Mr Srettha’s abroad excursions over the last two months, and given the option of selecting more than one answer, the respondents answered the following:

39.01% said they had not followed news on his overseas trips at all; 24.43% were interested in his meetings with leaders or important persons from other countries; 21.83% his dress/clothes; 19.69% his media interviews;19.08% his postures or body languages; 10.31% reception by host countries

When asked if they were satisfied with Mr Srettha’s international excursions (799), the majority, or 69.71%, replied “yes” 46.31% moderately and 23.40% highly. On the other hand, 20.27% were dissatisfied and 9.37% were completely dissatisfied. The remaining 0.63% had no response or were uninterested.

When asked if they were satisfied with Mr Srettha’s overall performance as prime minister over the last two months, 55.27% responded “yes” – 36.87% moderately and 18.40% highly. On the other hand, 26.87% were dissatisfied and 13.74% were completely dissatisfied. The remaining 4.12% had no response or were uninterested.

Mr. Srettha Thavisin was born on February 15, 1962, and is currently 61 years old. He is married with three children.

For his primary education, Mr. Srettha attended Srinakharinwirot University Prasarnmit Demonstration School. He later pursued his higher education in the United States, completing his undergraduate degree in Economics at the University of Massachusetts and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Finance from the Claremont Graduate School in the United States.

In his professional career, he achieved success as the Chairman and CEO of Sansiri Public Company Limited, a major player in the development of real estate in Thailand.

Entering the political arena on March 1, Mr. Srettha introduced himself as the advisor to the head of the Pheu Thai family before being nominated as one of the Pheu Thai Party’s three prime ministerial candidates.

After entering the political scene in March, it took him just six months to rise to the highest administrative position, becoming Thailand’s 30th Prime Minister.