Rights group criticises Thai PM's cardboard cutout gesture

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha waves to the crowd upon his arrival to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings in Clark, Pampanga, northern Philippines November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, known for his temperamental outbursts, has adopted a unique tactic to avoid tricky questions from reporters -- leave a cardboard cutout of himself for reporters to quiz.

But the gesture has been criticised by Human Rights Watch which said it shows the military junta chief's "contempt of media criticism" in a country yet to restore democracy since a 2014 coup.