Thai MP is caught looking at porn on his phone in parliament – and even takes his face mask off for a better look
- Ronnathep Anuwat was snapped flicking through explicit photos on Thursday
- The Chonburi province representative was at a budget reading in Bangkok
- He claimed he was trying to assess whether the woman pictured was in danger
- Images included a snap of a topless woman and another of a woman’s genitals
- House speaker Chuan Leekpai has dismissed the incident as a ‘personal matter’
A Thai MP was left red-faced after being caught in parliament looking at porn on his phone.
Ronnathep Anuwat was supposed to be paying attention to a budget reading in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday.
However, the cheeky politician opened a series of explicit images on his smartphone – viewing them for more than ten minutes.
Shocked reporters in the press gallery snapped Ronnathep – who had even removed his face mask to look closely at the photos.
A Thai MP was caught looking at porn while in parliament in Bangkok on Thursday. Photographers in the press gallery couldn’t believe what was happening and quickly snapped Ronnathep Anuwat’s cheeky scrolling
Some of the images Thai MP Ronnathep was looking at while at work included a topless woman and a close up of a woman’s genitals. It is not clear whether it is the same woman in all of the photos.
One showed a young woman with her top off, while another was lying naked on a bed.
A third snap showed a close up of a woman’s genitals.
The embarrassed MP, who represents Chonburi province for ruling military party Palang Pracharath, was confronted over the images and admitted looking at them.
However, he made a bizarre excuse, claiming to have received the unsolicited messages on the app Line from a girl who was ‘asking for help’ and ‘wanted money’.
Ronnathep told local media that he viewed the images in detail as he was checking the background to decide if the girl was in danger.
He said he wanted to ‘observe the environment surrounding the girl in the picture’.
Ronnathep, who represents Chonburi province in Thailand, was supposed to be paying attention to a budget reading in parliament in the capital, Bangkok. Instead, photographers noticed the MP appeared to be distracted for by explicit images on his phone for more than ten minutes
The naughty MP claimed he was looking at the explicit images out of concern for the woman’s welfare, claiming he wanted to ‘observe the environment surrounding the girl’ to ensure she wasn’t being forced by gangsters to take the pictures
The observation was necessary as he feared she was ‘being harassed by gangsters who had forced her to take the pictures’.
Ronnathep (above) will not face any action over looking at porn while in parliament as House speaker Chuan Leekpai said the matter was ‘personal’. Ronnathep is the second Thai MP to have been caught surfing smut at work
Ronnathep said he eventually realised the girl was ‘asking for money’ so he deleted all of the content.
Government officials summoned Ronnathep for an explanation.
However, they ruled that no further action would be taken against him.
House speaker Chuan Leekpai called the images were a ‘personal matter’.
He said there were currently no rules about what MPs could look at on their phones in the meeting room.
Chuan added that no MPs had complained about the matter so no action would be taken.
He warned the public to separate personal matters from MPs’ duties.
This is not the first time a Thai MP has let their attention wander during work hours.
In June 2012, Bangkok MP Nat Bantadtan was also caught flicking through porn on his phone during a constitutional amendment.