Thai PM to media: Speak to my cardboard cut-out

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has told reporters outside Government House in Bangkok to direct their questions at a cardboard cut-out of himself.

Leaving people bemused, the Thai military junta leader said: "Whoever wants to take a picture, ask political questions... about conflict... ask this guy," and pointed to the life-size cut-out which had been placed in front of a microphone.

His antics drew an angry reaction, with some Thai social media users suggesting his casual attitude was inappropriate.

"If you don't have the ability to answer people's questions, how can you solve people's problems?" one person wrote on Facebook.

Another Facebook post accused Mr Prayut of showing "bad manners".

The Thai prime minister has garnered a reputation for his rough treatment of the media.

He has previously tossed a banana peel at a cameraman, threatened to smack someone with his podium and pulled a reporter along by the ear.

Prayut seizied power in a 2014 coup by deposing then-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.