The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) has completed an internal inquiry into a claim, made by a prominent lawyer, that a journalists’ association, or its members, had accepted bribes from an online gambling network.
The investigation discovered that the TJA did not accept any funds from the network, whether as donations or other types of financial assistance.
Even though a team of lawyers, led by Sittra Biabungkerd, confirmed that the journalists’ association implicated was not the TJA, it still conducted an investigation.
Additionally, the TJA has not located any journalists’ association registered under the name indicated by Sittra.
Sittra hosted a press conference yesterday, outlining the groups of people who, he asserted, received ‘tea money’, in the form of donations and financial support, from online gambling networks.
The TJA has urged Sittra to clearly specify which journalists’ association is involved. Without such precision, the public may assume that the TJA was the target of the allegation.
If Sittra does not do so, the TJA will contemplate taking legal action.
