At 13:00 hrs. Mr.Tharit Pengdit, Director General, Department of Special Investigation, briefed the press on the outcome of the meeting of the Center For Maintaining Peace and Order (CMPO) earlier in the day, gist as follows:

1. The CMPO wished to refer to the Constitution Court's clarification on 5 February, indicating that only the public participating in the protest were engaged in legitimate peaceful assembly. It is clear that Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban and 58 PDRC core leaders have engaged in acts that violate criminal or other laws and the Criminal Court has accordingly approved the issuance of arrest warrants. Recently, the Court approved an arrest warrant against Mr. Issara Somchai and 6 people for the attempted murder of Mr. Yuem Nillar, who was taken by PDRC guards from Lumpini Park and detained for 6 days at a rally site, where he was beaten and seriously injured, before finally being bound and thrown into the Bang Pakong River. The latest violence also included a shooting at Lumpini Park and a bombing at Shinawatra III building. The CMPO has been attempting to perform its duties as much as possible by encouraging the public to not join the rallies, restoring functions of government agencies, and taking legal action against those who had violated the law.

2. The CMPO has received a report from the Metropolitan Police and Provincial Police regional commands regarding the legal proceedings against the election obstructions. So far, there are 190 cases involving election obstructions (51 cases in Bangkok and 139 cases in other provinces) and 176 cases involving the failure of electoral officers to perform their duties (65 cases in Bangkok and 111 cases in other provinces). 180 persons have already faced arrest warrants. 83 persons have been brought in for questioning. 1553 Election Commission officers were found to have deliberately neglected their duties. The CMPO wished to reiterate that obstruction of elections is considered a serious crime and carries penalties of imprisonment and fines as well as 5 years of being barred from running for election.