Malinee Wongphanich
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Dr Malinee Wongphanich was a Malay Occupational Hygienist who lectured at the Faculty of Public Health, at Thailand's Mahidol University in Bangkok. She was also one of the tobacco industry's major Asian WhiteCoats. She was recruited by tobacco lawyer John Rupp of Covington & Burling (Type-in Bates Number) 2500048635
Her main value to the tobacco industry was that she was (in 1989) the president of the Asian Association of Occupational Health (AAOH) and she helped the lawyers of the tobacco industry recruit other "Asian ETS Consultants". They were organised under Hong Kong consultant Sarah Liao into a pseudo-scientific association of 'indoor air pollution' experts known as APAIAQ Asian Pacific Association on Indoor Air Quality.
Malinee Wongphanich also recruited Dr Benito R Reverente a Philippines University lecturer in Occupational Health who was the subsequent president of the AAOH in 1991, and at about the same time she found another kindred spirit in Payaow Pruksakorn also from Bangkok's Mahidol University
Dr. Wongphanich and Dr. Reverente agreed to create and chair (control) a new standing committee on indoor air within the AAOH. One report on the recruitment of scientists (in 1989) says:
- "[Prof He] does not know, however, the ultimate source of these funds"
- [Note:This was not said about Wongphanich and Reverente -- who clearly did know]
- MW is an important person to cultivate given her regional stature and extensive network of friends in the Asian scientific community. Assisting her also secures our continued good relations with the AAOH"
Documents & Timelines
1989 Feb 25 John Rupp of Covington & Burling has reported back to Philip Morris on the recruitment of Malinee Wongphanich.
- She met with George Leslie in Bangkok on Feb 13
- She gave him names of scientists to contact in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
- She agreed to service on the 1990 Lisbon 'Warm Climates" conference committee
- She will have Asian Assn of Occ. Health (AAOH) jointly sponsor Lisbon (Conference) [Note: a sham conference of WhiteCoats]
- She will attend WHO conference in Geneva April 17-21 and will introduce Leslie to both the WHO and ILO chairmen for Occupational Health.
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/zzf87e00/pdfMW is an important contact for us to cultivate given her regional stature and extensive network of friends in the Asian scientific community. Assisting her also secures our continued good relations with the AAOH.
1989 Mar 31 She visited London (Type-in Bates Number) 680709347/9350
1989 Jul 7 Chris Proctor (then working at BAT) reported on the Bangkok training workshop for Asian WhiteCoats. Philip Morris is now being supported in this project by B&W (the US British-American Tobacco) and RJ Reynolds. The recruitment is being done by John Rupp and David Billings of C&B, with George Leslie of the ARIA group. (He was the organiser of the UK/European WhiteCoats).
The Report says that in Thailand:
Although there are distinct regional differences, as a whole, 55% of males and 6% of females smoke. Although ETS has not been discussed by scientists or the media in Thailand, the government has prohibited smoking on buses, in cinemas, schools, government offices and on-board aircraft (flights less than 2 hours, domestic and international). These bans may, at least in part, be due to WHO pressure.
On the recruitment of scientists as WhiteCoats it says:
"Leslie is the direct interface between Rupp and the scientists and funding of individual consultants is channelled through Leslie. However, Rupp maintains strong control over Leslie." "Wongphanich was a surprise. Her presentation was seemingly direct from WHO. Even her first remark [that] "no one in Thailand had thought about ETS before Leslie arrived" was revealing. Rupp and Leslie suggest that she did not fully understand the situation and could be educated."
- [Note: It is difficult to reconcile her claim that no one had thought about ETS, with the statment that smoking had already been prohibited in many public places and in public vehicles.] http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/wab62b00/pdf
1991 Nov 17 - 20 She is running the Asian Conference on Occupational Health, Bangkok, then on the following day (21st) is a "One-Day Symposium on Indoor Air Pollution with IAI [A subsdiary of ARIA - the UK WhiteCoats organisation] (Type-in Bates Number) 640300944 For the Asian ETS Consultants project - she is providing Gordon Leslie with contacts in WHO and ILO. (Type-in Bates Number) 2023034727/4734
