'da Torpedo' Fined Bt50,000 For Defaming Coup Leaders, Former Pm, Prem

[Plus]

Since judicial interference is one of the main motives of the red protests, high approval ratings show that their campaign doesn't have majority support, and most people don't take at least this item seriously.

[Thai at Heart]

1 in 3 doesn't trust the courts.

I think they have a long way to go to reach an acceptable level of perceived conduct by the population.

[KevinBloodyWilson]

Since judicial interference is one of the main motives of the red protests, high approval ratings show that their campaign doesn't have majority support, and most people don't take at least this item seriously.

That is an astonishing conclusion to reach. One that is completely unsupported.

Creative though, clearly you are seizing on any statistics, no matter how dubious that might support your already fully-formed preconceptions.

Best not to let facts get in the way. 64% or Thai people agree that the courts are less corrupt than the army and the police. 36% don't agree. If someone suggested that because 64% of Thais thought Thaksin was less corrupt than Barnharn, it meant that Thaksin was an honest man, I imagine you would be among the first to claim the stats were spurious. Rightly.

[Plus]

Reds view the military and the courts as evil incarnate called to slay the democracy while the majority of people think that military and courts are best what this state has to offer.

This shows that reds are not only in minority, but their views are also extremist by majority's perception.

And all of this confirms that reds simply follow Thaksin's lead on finding the enemies. Coup ousted him - target the military, courts convicted him - target the courts.

It also shows that several recent verdicts - TRT dissolution case, Thaksin conviction, PPP dissolution case - didn't put a serious dent in courts credibility among general public.

[mca]

The court interpretation of her speech was not different from people who also saw it.

The courts are the most trusted public institution in Thailand, according to the Asia Foundation survey that is covered in another topic.

What are your thoughts on the court's interpretation of things that put a bloke in prison for 10 years for posting a video?

[Buchholz]

Da Torpedo happy to get off with a fine

Lese majeste convict Daranee Chanchoengsilapakul, aka Da Torpedo, was ordered on Wednesday to pay a Bt50,000 fine in a separate case of defaming the junta and related figures, including chief royal adviser General Prem Tinsulanonda.

"I am glad the court just fined me as punishment - and its decision has convinced me to have confidence in the judiciary," Daranee said in reacting to her verdict.

Court rejects bail bid for leading Red Shirt

Thailand's Appeals Court on Friday dismissed a bail bid for the temporary release of a leading Red Shirt activist convicted of lese majeste and sentenced to 15 years jail, citing concern over her possible flight.

The court decision came as family members of Daranee Chanchoengsilpakul, commonly known as "Da Torpedo", sought her temporary release with a Bt1.4 million bail bond while the detainee is fighting the case in the Appeals Court.

The court said the defendant was earlier handed down a 15-year jail term and submitted requests for bail several times in the criminal and appeals courts but each time was rejected.

The court also rejected the latest request for her temporary release, reasoning that her case is considered "severe" and that she poses a flight risk once released.

In December the Criminal Court sentenced "Da Torpedo" to 15 years jail for making speeches deemed insulting to Thailand's revered monarchy on the rally stage of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) at Sanam Luang on Jan 18, 2008, and June 7 and June 13, 2008.

-- TNA 2012-03-16

Edited March 17, 2012 by Buchholz

[hanuman1]

When a law like LM becomes so politicized, and going soft on it could contribute to a coup, you just know that people like this are NOT going to get out any time soon.

Just part of the price of maintaining a facade of democracy in this land we love.

[yoshiwara]

This woman is of a type such as Jatuporn, Arisman and so on who are outriders for Thakin, hoping to push back lines in the sand and break down the legal system. It is a deliberate strategy and no doubt they hope to create a 'heroic' image for themselves as cadres for the cause. The payoff is recognition and hopefully a sinecure as reward. Circus performers.

[londonthai]

break down the legal system.

the legal system is created by the ruling class and to their own benefit, to guard their political superiority and oppress the majority. To abolish the present socio-economic system and class division is to question courts. Daranee was doing it, righly so

[yoshiwara]

break down the legal system.

the legal system is created by the ruling class and to their own benefit, to guard their political superiority and oppress the majority. To abolish the present socio-economic system and class division is to question courts. Daranee was doing it, righly so

Except that to posit the Thaksin forces as a revolutionary Bolshevik organisation is an absolute joke unless you have no understanding of class forces. The UDD as a socialist organisation. Not even worthy of a snigger. A part of the jigsaw of paid-up Thaksin interests. All that nonsense about the reds and class? Rubbish. Might convince a stoned first year undergraduate recovering from the full moon party though. Her? just another petty-bourgeois with a big mouth on the make.

Edited March 17, 2012 by yoshiwara

[animatic]

She endears little sympathy, she know what she was doing, but it's good this was just a fine.

Though a 2 year sentence concurrent to her existing one wouldn't have meant a thing practically.

Starting AFTER the other one, consecutively, would have been a real hammer in the head.