Post on rice contamination 'not meant to harm'

He called the press conference after a rice producer filed a police complaint accusing him of defamation. 

Suttipong said he had learned about this via the popular smart-phone application Line, and wanted to copy and post it on Facebook for “concerned people” only. However, his finger slipped and he ended up posting the comment before he could clarify his intention.

“I was concerned and wanted my friends to learn about this, as this information has been shared for a while now. I want them to learn about it but not believe it right away. I also wanted the rice producers to realise that they are in the news,” he said. 

Suttipong said he deleted the message as soon as he realised that it had been posted without his explanation, adding that he did not intend to discredit any political party or rice producers. He went on to say that he was willing to take up the rice-production companies’ invitation to check their inventories. 

Sumeth Laomoraporn, chief executive of CP Intertrade Co, an arm of the Charoen Pokphand Group, said as Suttipong had a large following on the Net, his message has had a huge impact and damaged his firm’s reputation. He said officials from his company, after failing to contact Suttipong on phone or through Facebook, had posted a message on his personal blog but it was deleted. 

He said other bloggers also posted messages accusing CP Intertrade of harassment. “I want to clarify that we have no intention to harass him, but only explain the production process. However, since we did not get a response, we had our legal team file a complaint at the Huai Khwang Police Station, accusing him of libel and violation of the Computer Crime Act. 

Sumeth said his company had bought two lots of rice under the rice-pledging scheme, which had been exported. He added that so far there have been complaints about the quality. 

“The fact that the government bought huge amounts from farmers, it’s inevitable that the quality would be affected by factors such as rain and rats,” he said, adding that his company was seeking the endorsement of the Food and Drug Administration to ensure consumers of the quality. 

Meanwhile, some social-media users are accusing Suttipong of causing this ruckus because he wants to promote his own brand of “Khao Khunnatham” organic rice. However, Suttipong defended himself, saying his firm only produced 40 to 50 tonnes of rice, which was too little compared to other brands. 

Separately, Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach said the ministry was looking into the law to see if it can take action against people who post false messages on social media and affect people’s confidence in Thai rice.