Probed by Thai police for allegedly tampering crime scene, CNN crew in hot water

BANGKOK -- Thai police is investigating claims that CNN crew members were filming at the crime scene of a knife and gun rampage at a childcare centre in Uthai Sawan.

Deputy national police chief Pol. Gen. Surachate Hakparn said the two journalists - an Australian, 47, and a British, 34 - were brought in for interrogation earlier today.

"The Immigration Police have withdrawn their (tourist) visas," he said.

He added that the CNN crews could face five years jail term or a fine of not more than 10,000 baht or both if found guilty of "trespassing a crime scene and tampering with evidence".

Earlier, police said the childcare centre was cordoned off for the authorities to collect evidence.

On Saturday, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) said the CNN crew members' act of filming at the childcare centre was unprofessional and a serious breach of journalistic ethics in crime reporting.

"A CNN team entered a clearly marked crime scene without permission - no matter what they may claim. 'It was not a scoop or an example of penetrating reporting because no other news organisation, foreign or local, was prepared to behave in this unethical manner, and any one of them could have done so,' it said in a statement.

FCCT added that Thailand has been traumatised by this tragedy and there has been wide concern all along that inappropriate images should not be made public in traditional and social media.

"Simple respect for the deceased and their families is but one of the reasons," it said.

CNN International PR Foreign, in a reply to FCCT's statement via a tweet, said CNN's crew was filming at the childcare centre with other media during a period when the police cordon had been removed. It said while filming, three public health officials exiting the building spoke to the team and told them they could film inside.

"The team gathered footage inside the centre for around 15 minutes, then left. During this time, the cordon had been set back in place, so the team needed to climb over the fence at the centre to leave," it said.

On Thursday, a sacked policeman killed 36 people - including 24 children - in Uthai Sawan in Nong Bua Lamphu province, about 500 km northeast of Bangkok.

The 34-year-old man killed 23 children who were sleeping after lunch at the childcare centre. The perpetrator fled the scene in a vehicle, went home, and killed his wife and son before fatally shooting himself. - Bernama