Can People Be Sued For Bashing Thai Police Here In Tv Forum

[23423981]

I am living in the states and am not familiar with the Thai law concerning libel/slander/defamation of character. There is no doubt that many Thai police officers are corrupt, and they are deserved to be scorned and ridiculed. But what if some elite, honest police officers get sick of farangs' police bashing and decide to take actions against you. I read English translation of the Thai Penal Code section 326 and 330, and they sure looked like they could be applied to many posts here in TV.

[zzaa09]

Troublemaker.

[cdnvic]

They aren't above criticism, and in many cases deserve it. We edit things that are far too over the top, or that makes allegations against specific individuals, both for the protection of ourselves and the poster. However, reasonable criticism is always allowed.

The courts have some protections from public criticism as I understand it, so be careful when dealing with that end of the story.

[Beetlejuice]

This is what happened to 2 of my mates after they criticised a Thai policeman on Thai visa:

[Beetlejuice]

OK, all joking aside.

The situation is like this:

Thailand is not a democracy in the same context as some Western countries.

Total freedom of speech and opinions regarding the authorities and those that lay down the rules are not something that is appreciated by the Thais.

The mind-set is that anyone who is chosen to be in an authoritive position knows best. They were put there because these people are wise and credible. To say otherwise means that they and those which support them don’t know what they are doing and not fit for the job.

In other words it is believed that their knowledge is greater than ours and what they do and how they do it should never be put into question. To put these people in an unfavourable light means having no respect for authority, the rule makers and those that govern.

This is the Thai way and should be accepted by the people that live in Thailand if they wish their stay here to be trouble free.

In answer to the OPs question, yes, if the wrong people or authority have they’re credibility undermined, there are draconian laws set in place to deal harshly with who ever they believe are the offenders.

So in Thailand it is a case of using common sense and using discretion at all times when posting on a Thai themed forum.