Defence Ministry orders probe into demeaning video

The ministry’s spokesperson RAdm Thanitpong Sirisawetsak on Monday said that the investigation is necessary to determine if the person who filmed the video is a soldier as claimed.

The 51-second video, posted at the weekend, shows a man, claiming to be a soldier, being asked to wash and fold the underwear of his boss and his boss’s wife.

Thanitpong said that the video might well be fake news and intended to damage the reputation of Thai soldiers, noting that it was posted as mandatory military conscription, which usually takes place in April and November, approaches.

He reiterated that the Defence Ministry respects the integrity of soldiers and would not order them to do such ill-suited tasks.

He also asked for more information from the public on the issue and promised to punish anyone found to be involved.

Several high-ranking officials are regularly accused of forcing their subordinates, all of them conscripts, to undertake such tasks as washing clothes and mowing lawns.

Move Forward MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, who currently serves as a chairperson of the House committee on Army Affairs, said his investigation discovered that the clip dated back to 2021.

He added that the regulations at that time allowed senior officers to have a servant, but this had since been revoked.

The lawmaker added he would keep an eye on the matter.

During last year’s election, the Move Forward party called for a reform of the army, firstly by doing away with mandatory military service under which Thai men aged 21 and over have to do up to two years of military service. The regulation excludes those have undergone Territorial Defence training.