“They may have been on a routine patrol close to the place. There is no need to fear anything,”Prayut said. “I will order them not to do so. They will not do anything from now on, nor will police officers. If anything bad happens, you can take care of it yourselves.”

Reacting to the reporters’ visit to Yingluck’s house, Prayut later asked them at Government House whether they had had a good time and they got any sacred items, hinting that he knew what was going on there.

Deputy Government Spokesman Taksada Sangkhachan said later that the allegation of the reporter being monitored was examined and it was found that the officers were on patrol duty in a “military-style ’50’ series truck”.

An earlier report had suggested that a military truck on Wednesday was found going into Sukhaphiban 5 Road, where the reporter’s house is located. The reporter and her cousin said the road was hardly used by anybody as it was a blind alley.

Prayut had suggested during the opening of the One Map project yesterday that he knew the reporters’ activities during their visit to Yingluck’s house.

“I know who attended whose New Year parties, who went to the New Year, the birthdays, took gifts, took sacred items from them. But frankly speaking, no sacred items can be more important than sacred law. If you committed wrongdoings, legal procedures are what will lie in wait to deal with them,” Prayut said.

It was seen as an apparent criticism of the reporters’ behaviour and a reference to the ongoing legal case against Yingluck.