Miss-Delectable
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Bangkok Post : Deaf woman storms PM's stage
Security officers protecting Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva are being blamed for allowing a deaf woman to confront him on the stage at a function.
Kesarin Wutthiwong, 46, caught the prime minister by surprise yesterday morning when she approached him on stage while he was addressing an audience of about 1,000 civil servants at a meeting to discuss the problem of teenage pregnancies.
The woman approached him with a poster declaring that she had to sell sexual services in order to make ends meet and she was asking the prime minister for help.
Mr Abhisit responded by saying into the microphone that he accepted her complaint and would help her.
Ms Kesarin could not hear him and tried to draw his attention to her poster.
The audience sat in stunned silence before security officers emerged after two minutes and forced her off the stage. Ms Kesarin said she was admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital in 2008 for treatment for a rare hearing disability caused by a parasitic infection.
The only way to restore her lost hearing is with an expensive cochlear implant, but she could not afford it. She had tried to seek help from the National Council on Social Welfare and had written to the prime minister several times but received no response.
She apologised for the security breach. "I didn't intend to cause any problem or any harm," she said.
"I only need someone to help with the hearing device."
Yesterday's event was held at Bitec convention centre in Bang Na and organised by the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.
The security team responsible for providing protection for the premier at the event was led by Pol Lt Neeranart Chinprasitthichai.
The team called an urgent meeting after Mr Abhisit returned to Government House to discuss the security breach, which highlighted how the prime minister would have been vulnerable to attack or even assassination if someone had approached him with more sinister motives.
Social Development and Human Security Minister Issara Somchai blamed the security team for allowing the woman to get near Mr Abhisit.
Substandard security could endanger his life, Mr Issara said.
Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said the ministry had arranged for Ms Kesarin to be admitted to Rajavithi Hospital.
He said the cochlear implant cost between 850,000 and 1 million baht and was not covered by the universal healthcare scheme.
The hospital would draw on funding from the Rajavithi Hospital Foundation to look after the woman, Mr Jurin said.
Security officers protecting Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva are being blamed for allowing a deaf woman to confront him on the stage at a function.
Kesarin Wutthiwong, 46, caught the prime minister by surprise yesterday morning when she approached him on stage while he was addressing an audience of about 1,000 civil servants at a meeting to discuss the problem of teenage pregnancies.
The woman approached him with a poster declaring that she had to sell sexual services in order to make ends meet and she was asking the prime minister for help.
Mr Abhisit responded by saying into the microphone that he accepted her complaint and would help her.
Ms Kesarin could not hear him and tried to draw his attention to her poster.
The audience sat in stunned silence before security officers emerged after two minutes and forced her off the stage. Ms Kesarin said she was admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital in 2008 for treatment for a rare hearing disability caused by a parasitic infection.
The only way to restore her lost hearing is with an expensive cochlear implant, but she could not afford it. She had tried to seek help from the National Council on Social Welfare and had written to the prime minister several times but received no response.
She apologised for the security breach. "I didn't intend to cause any problem or any harm," she said.
"I only need someone to help with the hearing device."
Yesterday's event was held at Bitec convention centre in Bang Na and organised by the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.
The security team responsible for providing protection for the premier at the event was led by Pol Lt Neeranart Chinprasitthichai.
The team called an urgent meeting after Mr Abhisit returned to Government House to discuss the security breach, which highlighted how the prime minister would have been vulnerable to attack or even assassination if someone had approached him with more sinister motives.
Social Development and Human Security Minister Issara Somchai blamed the security team for allowing the woman to get near Mr Abhisit.
Substandard security could endanger his life, Mr Issara said.
Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said the ministry had arranged for Ms Kesarin to be admitted to Rajavithi Hospital.
He said the cochlear implant cost between 850,000 and 1 million baht and was not covered by the universal healthcare scheme.
The hospital would draw on funding from the Rajavithi Hospital Foundation to look after the woman, Mr Jurin said.