The government has come under fire after Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow admitted on Monday that his assistant had met a man who was said to be hoarding face masks, but he denied they discussed the mask trade.
Capt Thamanat was responding to a report on Facebook alleging that his close aide had a hoard of 200 million medical masks for resale to China.
Palang Pracharath MP Sira Jenjaka on Monday called on Capt Thamanat to resign in order to fix the image of the government. That call was echoed by deputy Democrat leader Nipit Intarasombat and Democrat MP Panit Wikitset.
Capt Thamanat said on his Facebook page there was a man hoarding masks for sale, and said his close aide Pittinant Rak-iad was advised by a friend to meet the man at the Marriott Hotel in the Pratunam area to discuss a matter involving masks, but they did not make a deal to trade in any masks.
Sornsuvee "Boy" Pooraveenasawatchari, who was pictured meeting Mr Pittinant in the hotel, told police on Monday afternoon he had not stocked any face masks.
Asked about a clip he posted showing himself with a large inventory of face masks, he said he did not know to whom they belonged.
"I just wanted to show off I had found much sought-after masks since the product is in short supply. No one can find them. I found them but didn't have the money to buy them, so I posted [the clip] on Facebook."
When reporters asked who the masks belonged to, Mr Sornsuvee said: "No-one. I've never seen them. I don't know who the owner is. I know nothing."
Earlier, Mr Sornsuvee's Facebook posts and video clips were copied by Mam Pho Dam, a popular independent investigator of current affairs on the platform, who claimed to know why the products could not be found in the Thai market.
Mam Pho Dam claimed all the posts she captured were from Mr Sornsuvee, who boasted of having 200 million masks. His Facebook was later closed.
A post at 12.15am on his Facebook on Monday read: "Five million pieces available tomorrow at 14 baht each. For hospital and medical use. Minimum order 1 million pieces. You can show [proof of] your financial position or bring Chinese buyers."
The post also shows two photos of opened cases filled with green boxes containing 50 pieces each and a few samples on top. A label on one of the cases partially shows what appeared to be "Made in Thailand" and the name of a local manufacturer.
A clip in early February shows several cases being loaded on a truck with Mr Sornsuvee supervising the process. He was heard in the clip saying he was filling orders to China and giving an assurance he had plenty of products for sale to "anyone who has the money".
Another post shows a photo of Mr Sornsuvee and Mr Pittinant at a hotel with a Chinese merchant.
