(updated) Thai envoy in hotel fight

A female Thai diplomat has been accused of assaulting an Egyptian lawyer during a night out at an exclusive five-star hotel in Cairo. The accusation has been denied by the envoy, but now she has been ordered to return to Thailand.

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Ms Kakanang is listed on the Thai Embassy website as first secretary, a position which normally carries diplomatic immunity.

Wednesday morning update

The Foreign Ministry has recalled a female Thai diplomat accused of savagely assaulting an Egyptian lawyer during a night out at an exclusive five-star hotel in Cairo.

Sihasak Phuangketkeow, the Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary, yesterday said the ministry was sorry about the incident and had launched an investigation.

Mr Sihasak yesterday said Ms Kakanang had been told to return to Thailand immediately to provide an account of what happened. The ministry will take disciplinary action if the probe finds she acted inappropriately.

recall – to order somebody to return  เรียกกลับ
savagely – in an extremely violent, wild or frightening way อย่างป่าเถื่อน, อย่างโหดร้าย
permanent secretary – a government official, not a political appointee, in charge of a ministry ปลัดกระทรวง
account – a written or spoken report about something that has happened การอธิบาย
disciplinary action – punishment of people who do not obey the rules  การลงโทษเนื่องจากการฝ่าฝืนวินัย หรือระเบียบ
probe – an investigation การสอบสวน
inappropriate – unsuitable ซึ่งไม่เหมาะสม

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Morning update: Post Today quotes Jakkrit Srivali, deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, as reminding media that only one side, that of the accuser, has been directly questioned by the media.

Thai envoy in hotel fight

Thanida Tansubhapol

A female Thai diplomat has been accused of assaulting an Egyptian lawyer during a night out at an exclusive five-star hotel in Cairo, the Egypt Independent reported.

The newspaper reported on its website on Sunday that the first secretary at the Thai embassy in Egypt, Kakanang Amaranand, allegedly verbally and physically assaulted lawyer Rana Ashraf.

The incident, which took place last Thursday evening, left the lawyer with a black eye, a cut on her head, scratches all over her body and four deep bite marks in her arm.

The Thai diplomat, meanwhile, insisted she acted in self-defence.

Mrs Ashraf and her husband Mohamed Sameh told the Egypt Independent on Sunday that the altercation took place after they asked Ms Kakanang her name.

The embassy secretary allegedly responded by insulting and trying to kick Mrs Ashraf.

"When I tried to restrain her, she tried to hit me," Mr Sameh said.

"My wife then stood between us and this is when the brutal attack started," he claimed. "She pushed her on a couch, kicked her in the face and head at least five times, pulled her hair [and] bit her till she bled," he added.

"It was a completely one-sided fight," the media quoted Mr Sameh as saying.

Before the assault, Ms Kakanang was said to be drinking heavily, bragging about her diplomatic immunity and criticising Egypt.

"Egypt is the worst country I have ever been to after Lebanon," she was quoted as saying.

The couple filed a complaint at Qasr El Nil police station and are waiting to hear whether prosecutors want to proceed with the case.

Mrs Ashraf was demanding that Ms Kakanang be subjected to a drug test as well as a psychological evaluation, according to media reports.

The Thai embassy told the Egypt Independent on Sunday they had not received an official complaint from the couple.

Jakkrit Srivali, deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said the Thai embassy in Cairo would launch an investigation into what happened that night and would invite both the couple and Ms Kakanang to give their sides of the story at the embassy next Monday.

However, according to an initial embassy report, Ms Kakanang insists she acted in self-defence.

She said she went to the hotel with an embassy colleague who knew the couple. She denied having met them before.

Mr Jakkrit said he knows Ms Kakanang and that she is polite and well-mannered.

embassy – a group of officials who represent their government in a foreign country สถานทูต
diplomatic immunity –  a situation where someone working for a foreign embassy cannot be taken to court and punished for breaking the law in the country where he/she is working ความคุ้มกันทางทูต
envoy – someone who is sent as a representative from one government or organization to another ทูต
female – being a woman or a girl สตรี, ผู้หญิง, เพศหญิ
diplomat – an official whose job is to represent their government in a foreign country นักการทูต
assault – to attack someone violently  ทำร้ายร่างกาย
lawyer – an attorney ทนาย
exclusive – of a high quality and expensive and therefore not often bought or used by most people พิเศษ, เฉพาะตัว
allegedly – claimed to have done something wrong, but not yet proven ที่กล่าวหา
verbally – using words ทางคำพูด
physically – in a way that is connected with a person's body rather than their mind ด้านร่างกาย,  เกี่ยวกับร่างกาย
incident – something that happens, usually something bad เหตุการณ์
scratches – thin marks on a surface รอยข่วน, รอยถลอก, รอยกรีด
insist – to keep saying very firmly that something is true ยืนกราน ยืนยัน
self-defence – something you say or do in order to protect yourself when you are being attacked, criticised, etc การป้องกันตัวเอง
altercation – a noisy argument or disagreement การทุ่มเถียง, การทะเลาะวิวาท
insult – to say or do something to someone that is rude or offensive พูดแดกดัน, พูดจาบจ้วง
restrain – to stop somebody/something from doing something, especially by using physical force  ยับยั้ง, จำกัด
brutal – extremely violent and unpleasant โหดร้าย
claim – to say that something is true although it has not been proved and other people may not believe it อ้าง
couch – a long low comfortable seat that two or three people can sit on โซฟา, เก้าอี้ยาว, เก้าอี้นอน
bleed – to have blood flowing from your body, for example from a cut
media – newspapers, television, radio, etc. สื่อ
quote – to repeat the words that someone else has said or written ยกคำพูดมา
brag – to talk too proudly about something you own or something you have done พูดอวดดี, ฝอย
criticise – to say that you disapprove of somebody/something; to say what you do not like or think is wrong about somebody/something วิจารณ์, ติเตียน,จับผิด
file a complaint – to make a formal statement to someone in authority that someone has done something wrong ยื่นคำร้อง
prosecutor – a lawyer whose job is to prove in court that someone accused of a crime is guilty อัยการ
proceed – to carry out an activity ดำเนินการ
demand – a very firm request for something ข้อเรียกร้อง, การเรียกร้อง
subject to – to make somebody/something experience, suffer or be affected by something, usually something unpleasant ทำให้ได้รับ
psychological – connected with a person's mind and the way in which it works ทางด้านจิตใจ, ทางจิตวิทยา
evaluation – the process of thinking carefully about something before making a judgment about its value, importance, or quality การประเมินผล
deputy – a person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organisation รอง
launch – to start something เริ่มต้น เริ่มทำ
investigation – the process of trying to find out all the details or facts about something in order to discover who or what caused it or how it happened การสอบสวน, การตรวจสอบหาข้อเท็จจริง
initial – early; first  เบื้องต้น
colleague – someone who works in the same organisation or department as you do เพื่อนร่วมงาน
deny – to say that something is not true ปฏิเสธ
well-mannered – having good manners; behaving politely and appropriately ซึ่งมีกิริยามารยาทดี