Two CNN staff members who were suspected of trespassing into the scene of a nursery in Utai Shawang Town, Thailand and filming without permission were arrested on October 9.
CNN International's executive vice president and general manager Mike McCarthy said that CNN has stopped playing reports of the incident and has deleted the video from its website. He tweeted a statement: "We deeply regret any pain or offense that the report may cause and any inconvenience caused to the police at such a painful time in this country."
incident review
On October 6, former Thai police officer Pan Ya broke into a nursery in Utai Shawang town with a gun and a knife, killing 24 young children and 12 adults, and the murdered young children were between the ages of 2 and 5. After the incident, media around the world were paying attention, and CNN News played the scene inside the nursery, which aroused public anger. Faced with the accusations of Thai media, CNN claimed that its staff only entered the crime scene after obtaining permission from Thai officials. However, this statement was refuted by Thai media, saying that the report had a serious impact on local people, especially the relatives of the victims, and violated news ethics.
Two CNN employees who were arrested were 47-year-old Australian journalist Anna Coren and 34-year-old British photographer Daniel Hodge. After being filed with criminal charges by local administrative agencies, the two were arrested and then taken to the Nagrang Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the crime scene of the massacre case.
In the initial response, CNN said that when two staff members entered the site, the police cordon was removed and three public health officials walked out of the building and told reporters that they could shoot inside.
So the team collected about 15 minutes of footage in the center and left. During this time, the cordon had been put back in place, so the reporter crawled over the fence and left at the end.
A Thai journalist took and posted photos of two staff members leaving the scene in northeast Thailand, a CNN staff member was seen climbing over low walls and fences around the compound, crossing the cordon, and another one was already outside.
regional administrative head was interviewed by the police station for this matter
Previously, Thai officials said that the media should not enter the scene of serious crime unless approved by the authorities. Keren and Huo Jue illegally entered the scene of the crime may destroy evidence and disrupt the work of investigators, and the two may face other charges.
And Asayong, deputy director of the Thai Immigration Bureau, said that the two CNN employees were not approved to work in Thailand. The Thai Immigration Bureau has revoked Koren and Huo Jue's tourist visas, and it is a criminal offence to conduct news reports without a media visa.
final result
On October 9, Thai authorities fined two CNN reporters working in the country with tourist visas and no longer pursued their illegal behavior in entering daycare, saying that they were filming inside and believed that they had obtained permission.
Deputy National Police Chief Surachate Hakparn said it was a misunderstanding, and the two reporters misunderstood the meaning of volunteers or health officials on the scene, waved into the building without knowing that those who signaled had no right to allow them to enter.
With the consent of the police, two CNN staff posted apologies videos, which will pay a fine of 5,000 baht and leave Thailand respectively. And CNN has stopped playing the story of the incident and has deleted the video from its website.
