Videos of Prawit Wongsuwan, a former deputy prime minister, hitting a female reporter in the head prompted angry demands for an investigation in Thailand.
A politician is surrounded by journalists while walking down a corridor when one of them asks him a question. Instead of answering it, he raises his hand and slaps her in the head several times before climbing into his vehicle and driving away.
Videos of this interaction in Bangkok last week, between Duangthip Yiamphop, a reporter for the Thai Public Broadcasting Service, and Prawit Wongsuwan, a retired general and former deputy prime minister, have led to anger in Thailand, where violence against women is prevalent and the military has repeatedly disavowed democratic norms.
Mr. Prawit’s behavior has prompted calls for the Thai Parliament to open an ethics inquiry into him. A parliamentary committee is set to discuss the case in a meeting on Thursday, Pukkamon Nunarnan, a member of Parliament, said in an interview.
The Thai Public Broadcasting Service said in a statement that it viewed Mr. Prawit’s action as an act of intimidation that affected journalists’ sense of safety.
“The journalist’s questions were presented with polite language and demeanor, addressing topics relevant to the interview,” the company said. “Being physically assaulted by the news source in this manner is unacceptable.”
Mr. Prawit and officials in his Palang Pracharath party could not be reached by phone on Wednesday. Ms. Duangthip declined a request for an interview, saying that her employer was handling the matter.
Television cameras captured the episode moments after Thailand’s Parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra as its new prime minister on Friday.
Ms. Paetongtarn is the daughter of the billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, with whom Mr. Prawit has a sour history.
Mr. Prawit, 79, helped orchestrate the military coup in 2014 as the country’s top general, after helping to oust Mr. Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra from office.
Mr. Prawit then helped lead Thailand’s military-run government for nearly a decade as the country’s deputy prime minister. He was also a contender to be the next prime minister.
Mr. Prawit, who is the president of Thailand’s National Olympic Committee, was walking out of a meeting with Thai athletes who had returned from the Paris Games. In videos, Ms. Duangthip is seen asking him a question: “Have you watched the prime ministerial vote?” she asks in Thai.
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He does not answer the question but says, “What did you ask? What kind of question is that?” while slapping her on the head and walking away. Ms. Duangthip flinches and pulls her head away.
The Thai Broadcast Journalists Association said in a statement that Mr. Prawit’s team had defended him, saying that he had hit her as a joke on the basis of his longstanding familiarity with Ms. Duangthip.
The association rejected that explanation, stating that the video showed “anger and intimidation” in his expression.
“The recent attack on a journalist is unacceptable and cannot be ignored,” Ittipan Buathong, president of the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, said in an interview. “It’s clear that what happened wasn’t just teasing — it was an outright assault.”
Mr. Ittipan said Ms. Duangthip was a veteran reporter who had worked on the military beat for about two decades. He added that Mr. Prawit had acted inappropriately toward journalists before.
“This incident, if dismissed as trivial, risks repeating past scenarios where interviews have belittled the media, questioning their educational background to undermine their professional work,” the association said.
The Thai Journalists Association said in a statement that it considered Mr. Prawit’s behavior to be “threatening and harassing toward the rights and freedom of the press” and demanded that he take responsibility for his actions.
Under Mr. Prawit, Thailand’s military-appointed Senate last year rejected the results of an election in which a majority of the votes supported a pro-reform candidate who, among other initiatives, called for changes to a law that made it a crime to criticize the Thai monarchy.
Senator Tewarait Maneechai on Tuesday called on the Senate to investigate Mr. Prawit’s behavior Friday. The Thai Broadcast Journalists Association and National Council of News and Broadcasting also demanded the House of Representatives start a probe for ethical misconduct.
Ms. Pukkamon, the lawmaker, said that the Parliamentary Committee on Political Development planned to discuss on Thursday whether politicians should be bound to the Parliament’s code of ethics while interacting with journalists.
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The code states that members should respect the rights of others and refrain from threats, showing malice or using force to harm others.
Mr. Tewarait said that the episode highlighted Thailand’s hierarchical societal norms.
“Senior or influential figures feel they can act with impunity toward younger or less powerful people,” he said in an interview. “Unfortunately, this has become a norm in Thai society.”
