Mr Abhisit on Tuesday morning admitted to having sent Mr Panich to the border and said that he would explain the matter after the cabinet meeting.
Mr Panitan said the prime minister told the cabinet that Mr Panich initially informed him that he would go to a border point in Prachin Buri province. But, from the border, Mr Panich reported through the prime minister's personal secretary that he went to adjacent Sa Kaeo province instead.
When Mr Panich called on the telephone, it was not known for sure if he and six other Thais were in Cambodia, making it difficult for the government to help when they were arrested.
According to Mr Panitan, the Foreign Affairs Ministry reported to the cabinet on its plans to help the seven Thais, who have been charged with trespassing on Cambodian territory and intruding into a military zone on Dec 29.
The ministry will appoint two lawyers to handle the case.
The ministry insisted that Mr Panich and his team did not have the intention to trespass on Cambodian soil. They were there only to investigate a complaint from local villagers, who said they could no longer make their living in the area.
The team sincerely believed the area was Thai soil and had no intention of causing a problem for relations between the two countries.
The Foreign Ministry will do all it can to maintain good relations with Cambodia and will continue to keep in contact with the Cambodian government.
The Defence and Foreign Affairs ministries had assigned the army's survey department to examine the area to pinpoint the exact location where the seven Thais were arrested. A report on this matter was expected by Tuesday evening.
Mr Abhisit said in a separate interview that he had viewed the video clips posted on the internet and being used by Cambodia against the seven Thais.
The total length of the clips was 20 minutes, but it was cut to only one minute.
The clips must be viewed in their entirety and a map drawn up to show the exact location so as to confirm that the Thais had no intention to trespass on Cambodian territory, the prime minister said.
Mr Abhisit said he had not directly contacted Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and would leave it to the appropriate authorities to do their job.
The prime minister also asked the Thai Patriots Network not to instigate unrest, because that would not do anything good for the country.
The clip, uploaded to YouTube by "gigcode��, shows a group of seven people led by Democrat MP Panich intruding into Cambodian territory.
During video Mr Panich makes a phone call to his secretary Somkiat, telling him to inform Mr Abhisit that he was inside Cambodia. The MP told his secretary that the prime minister, and no one else, knew about the intrusion.
Assistant to the foreign minister Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said latre today Thai authorities will have to wait for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court's legal process to run its course before they can help the captured Thais.
"If the legal process goes quickly and the court gives its verdict ... Thailand will hold talks with Cambodia to bring the seven Thais back to this country as soon as possible," Mr Chavanond said.
He said the first hearing is set for Jan 6 at 8am. The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh had hired a defence lawyer.
Sa Kaeo governor Sanit Naksooksri said on Tuesday the seven detained Thais knew that they had entered Cambodian territory.
Mr Sanit said the government could not make the excuse that the seven had lost their way and entered Cambodia accidentally.
"Negotiations for their release will likely be more difficult because a yellow-shirt activist is also in the group," he said.
The governor said a group of People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters arrived on Sa Kaeo to stage a protest against the arrests last night. However, security personnel will not allow them to rally near the border area for safety reasons.
"Thai-Cambodian relations remain cordial and we depend on each other, but people from the outside do not understand the situation.
"It is quite normal for the yellow-shirt group to protest, but I'm afraid they might cause problems for local people," Mr Sanit said.
The PAD leaders said they planned to rally in Sa Kaeo for two days.
National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general Thawil Pliensri said authorities were seeking the release of the seven Thais through negotiations, since the border is a sensitive issue.
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