Thai-born British citizen accused of lese majeste by her own parents

[Smokemachine]

What actually happen between she and her parents?

Are the parents worry of been harassed or involvement of LM?

Or perhaps they love the great King as well and can't understand why has their daughter ended up loving Ko Tee?

[Skint]

She's a British citizen residing in London.

She can say what she wishes.

Not according to Thai law. In fact under Thai law, insulting any Royal globally can be punished.

she can give up her Thai passport for the uk one an problem solved. As for her parents they should be put in prison

Won't help her one bit if she comes back to Thailand. There will be an open arrest warrant at immigration and they will nab her.

Uk will back up its citizens if they do not hold the 2nd passport

[Thai at Heart]

She's a British citizen residing in London.

She can say what she wishes.

Not according to Thai law. In fact under Thai law, insulting any Royal globally can be punished.

she can give up her Thai passport for the uk one an problem solved. As for her parents they should be put in prison

Won't help her one bit if she comes back to Thailand. There will be an open arrest warrant at immigration and they will nab her.

Uk will back up its citizens if they do not hold the 2nd passport

Hahaha.

I know the ins and outs of the embassy very well, and what would you like them to do.if she got arrested?

Send in the SaS and fast rope her out of klong prem? She has broken Thai law. If she comes back to Thailand, she will be prosecuted. Where is Giles Unkhamporn these days?

[Jonmarleesco]

The very fact that complaints have rocketed points to a large number being of questionable interpretation. But then it's an offence seemingly seen, in Thailand, as more serious than many capital crimes and, more often than not, with a questionable interpretation; and frankly, where the accusers are concerned, an often questionable motive.

But just how the Thai police are going to take any kind of action against her, a British citizen in the UK, boggles the mind. Particularly as lese majeste is - thankfully - not a crime in the UK.

Frankly, it smacks of parents seeing themselves slighted by their daughter and looking to get their own back.

[Docno]

If found guilty for disrespect, I hope she go to jail to the limit of the punishment. 5 years for every disrespect. That will be good for her. Thailand do not have such disrespectful people. We all love the king more than our parents. Don't believe me, just ask anything Thai you know.

Actually, what Thais tell each other can be quite different from what they will tell non-Thais. This is especially true when talking to Thais outside of Thailand. As a Thai, you will never know this. The LM laws have created a culture of fear that erects barriers among the Thais themselves. And many, like yourself, are not even aware of it because you are content to live in your fishtank.

[mrtoad]

If found guilty for disrespect, I hope she go to jail to the limit of the punishment. 5 years for every disrespect. That will be good for her. Thailand do not have such disrespectful people. We all love the king more than our parents. Don't believe me, just ask anything Thai you know.

Actually, what Thais tell each other can be quite different from what they will tell non-Thais. This is especially true when talking to Thais outside of Thailand. As a Thai, you will never know this. The LM laws have created a culture of fear that erects barriers among the Thais themselves. And many, like yourself, are not even aware of it because you are content to live in your fishtank.

Suriya generally lives either in a bubble or under a bridge, never really been able to figure it. At one point was Indian, now Thai living in Scotland. Both I doubt.

Generally posts nonsense though.

[Bkkbound]

I suspect her not having contact and thus not supplying any cash to the parents is the root of this little spat... She clearly has a lot of reason to resent them and what they represent.

[somjitr]

I see a lot of posts bashing her parents. I'm pretty sure that her parents have been under constant abuses and threats, and only filed the complaint to save themselves, knowing that their daughter would be safe in the UK anyway. Blame the bigots making those threats, not her parents.

[Bkkbound]

I see a lot of posts bashing her parents. I'm pretty sure that her parents have been under constant abuses and threats, and only filed the complaint to save themselves, knowing that their daughter would be safe in the UK anyway. Blame the bigots making those threats, not her parents.

Her parents reporting her to the police makes no sense... if they are estranged why are they bothering to following social media gossip... there's more to this story than we are being told.

[englishoak]

Her parents ARE getting a huge amount of backlash and serious threats, its damage limitation for them and the ability to get on with life here...

As to the woman shes not too bright but its only words and to most of us, adults comments by some silly girl are nothing to fuss about.................... prob here is Thais arnt very adult about this kind of thing themselves and pretty strung out about it.... so they will make all the noise in the world like it matters or they can do something about it..... the fact is thankfully as much as here we are obliged to keep opinions to ourselves elsewhere they can and do have the right to free speech.... the UK is such a place and expect the girl is a little bit drunk on the freedom to say what she wants.. lets hpe she dosnt come home anytime soon for her sake.

I dont find it very palatable but end of the day dont care one jot what she has to say about anyone, it means nothing unless some make a big deal about it... and then its overreaction. Its just people and fanatical childish type whining in Thailand... unfortunately her parents and family have to deal with those type of attitudes and Thais daily .........

The law of les majeste as a certain someone has rightly said in the past it is actually harmful not helpful as a tool of protection.

[Escapologist]

I very much doubt she gives a toss, she is a British Citizen, living in a country that allows freedom of speech. She's not likely to return here anytime soon.

Freedom when it is against the Thai Monarchy. If it is against UK or USA than there isn't that much freedom....see the Snowden situation where they threatened the newspapers

You are correct. The British regime now routinely persecutes citizens for breaking the artificial taboos of its imposed multicultural order. Whilst it is still permissible to criticise royalty, a raft of political thought-crimes legislation has passed on to the statue books since Tony Blair was elected in 1997 and British citizens have found themselves in court, and sometimes in jail for many years, for being caught being stridently critical of: Jews, Muslims, homosexuals, feminists, non-whites or mass-immigration. Royals are still naturally popular amongst the indigenous though and so, representing the historical link between past and present, they are still fair game in the minds of the treacherous cosmopolitans who've slyly captured us in their cage of social-engineering legislation.

As you say, Assange and Snowden are also examples of what happens when anyone exposes how these creatures operate. Thailand certainly has problems, and Thais are clearly indoctrinated in the mythology of the-one-we-cannot-criticise, but the globalists have created an extremely illiberal mess in the West. A clash of civilisations, to coin Samuel Huntington's phrase. Having said that, two wrongs don't make a right, Thailand's "lesse majeste" laws do look ridiculous from here and I'm glad that a Thai managed to develop her own mind on the matter. Congratulations to her.

[retarius]

I wonder if the police will ask for extradition?

[orientalsf]

"According to Mr. Surapong, Ms. Chatvadee has not been in contact with her parents for some time."

I'm not surprised, if I had parents like them I wouldn't like ever to see them.

If I had a daughter like this I'd disown her. She should know that her comments would affect the family who are living in Thailand.

[Escapologist]

I wonder if the police will ask for extradition?

The UK and Thailand have had an extradition arrangement for over a century but only one extradition to Thailand and that was for a murder charge. Good luck to the Thai authorities if they think they'll get away with such a request. Extraditing a British citizen for criticising foreign royals would spell the end for the incumbent British Home Secretary. Won't happen.

[Skint]

She's a British citizen residing in London.

She can say what she wishes.

Not according to Thai law. In fact under Thai law, insulting any Royal globally can be punished.

she can give up her Thai passport for the uk one an problem solved. As for her parents they should be put in prison

Won't help her one bit if she comes back to Thailand. There will be an open arrest warrant at immigration and they will nab her.

Uk will back up its citizens if they do not hold the 2nd passport

[Greg Nixon]

I think it is all a load of rubbish.

[Escapologist]

"According to Mr. Surapong, Ms. Chatvadee has not been in contact with her parents for some time."

I'm not surprised, if I had parents like them I wouldn't like ever to see them.

If I had a daughter like this I'd disown her. She should know that her comments would affect the family who are living in Thailand.

Publicly disowning her, given the totalitarian nature of king worship in Thailand, is understandable, but privately too? She'd do well to disown you first then.

[wandasloan]

But just how the Thai police are going to take any kind of action against her, a British citizen in the UK, boggles the mind. Particularly as lese majeste is - thankfully - not a crime in the UK.

I don't understand why you and several others think the Thai police are contemplating any action against her. There are hundreds of known cases of lese majeste occurring overseas but not one that brought police action overseas. Police "investigate" every single complaint brought to every single police station. After investigation, they take action deemed necessary. Of hundreds and hundreds of known lese majeste cases occurring outside Thailand, there never has been one in which police "take any kind of action" in a foreign country.

I haven't seen a single post addressing what DOES happen with some few such cases - visits from "foreign ministry" officials, direct one-on-one harassment of the person involved, and more. But there is not a hint in the OP or elsewhere that anything like an extradition case is being contemplated, let alone likely. It's a strawman, and a very poor one at that.

Uk will back up its citizens if they do not hold the 2nd passport

Like it backed the two preachers on trial in Jordan and the US for *_SAYING_* terrible things? By the record, the UK seeks to harm its citizens suspected of serious thought-crimes in foreign countries. If I were Rose, this would not be one of the points that kept me going in scary times. There is not one chance in a billion trillion that the UK will back her up, and no chance whatsoever they could actually help her.

Britain had to pass a new law to charge Abu Qatada with ANY offence at all and hurry him off to a foreign country. And that offence was speaking in a manner authorities deemed unacceptable. That was the whole charge against him, used to extradite him - using his freedom of speech.

The dreadful Abu Hamza is charged with using freedom of speech. That was the official charge against him so he he could be extradited.

Qatada is not Hamza is not Rose. But recent history suggests the sort of help that the UK government is most likely to provide to someone who is charged in a foreign country with using freedom of speech.

And to look at it another way: There is not the slightest thing the UK could do about her if she set foot in Thailand, if she holds one or one hundred different passports. The only possible "back up" they could give is to try to beg gracious Thai gaolers to pass her the embassy's list of lawyers. Were she to come to Thailand, it would be a simple manner of "already did the crime, prepare to serve the time". In the hugely unlikely case of a mild, Milquetoast complaint by some brave, unauthorised British diplomat, Thai authorities might hurt themselves falling down in laughter at such stupidity — and then lodge a diplomatic complaint about interference in the justice system.

You know -.that unassailable legal system so many posters think is doing a great job at getting rid of that other red shirt woman reviled by far more people than Rose. That justice system? A lot of people here vying for the gold medal in blatant hypocrisy.

.

Edited April 18, 2014 by wandasloan

[Yunla]

I hope she likes rain.

[Escapologist]

I hope she likes rain.

...and civilisation.

[Yunla]

I hope she likes rain.

...and civilisation.

I grew up in Wakefield, so I can only vouch for the former.

[Escapologist]

I hope she likes rain.

...and civilisation.

I grew up in Wakefield, so I can only vouch for the former.

Most Thailand expats seem to be disenfranchised with their usually more civilised home nations. Many don't have a good word to say about home. Cheap young pussy really does appear to impair memory function and the faculty of fair critical comparison.

[Suriya4]

Ironic. Don't like the monarchy, but hiding in UK which is run by a Queen. Ironic. LM law originated in the UK isn't it?

[HeavyDrinker]

Most Thailand expats seem to be disenfranchised with their usually more civilised home nations. Many don't have a good word to say about home. Cheap young pussy really does appear to impair memory function and the faculty of fair critical comparison.

Quite and well put....They're the same buffoons who rattle on about being 'guests' here and if someone don't like something here they should 'go home and not to let the door hit them on the botty on the way out" and other gems of wisdom....

I for one love going home as does the wife.

[metisdead]

Inflammatory and off topic posts have been removed.

[Yunla]

Most Thailand expats seem to be disenfranchised with their usually more civilised home nations. Many don't have a good word to say about home. Cheap young pussy really does appear to impair memory function and the faculty of fair critical comparison.

Well I'm certainly not here for any of that. So by your argument that means my critical thinking is unaffected.

And it isn't really about being disenfranchised, it is about weighing up and assessing the pros and cons of all nations. In England my various flats or houses were burgled over a dozen times, I was repeatedly mugged in the street (and I'm a disabled lady), I saw a lot of behaviour that was not the "civilisation" you speak of. In Bangkok I have been neither burgled nor mugged in many years visiting here.

On-topic though, I have great respect for the UK, and the Queen of England. I am not a critic of her, she has served her country every day, and if you read about her life you will understand that especially in her youth, the role she was born into was a very demanding and exhausting one.

I have, if anything, greater admiration and respect for the most illustrious and magnificent HMTK in my adopted nation. I always judge a person by their actions, and I have the utmost respect for this person because of those actions. I can not compare those many benevolent and unifying actions, to the actions of a hairdresser who seeks to be an internet sensation by insulting people in a remote and verminous manner.

Edited April 18, 2014 by Yunla

[oyster]

She's a British citizen residing in London.

She can say what she wishes.

That used to be the case - since the London bombings, and the anti terrorist bill that followed speech is not as 'free' as it once was.

[mrtoad]

Ironic. Don't like the monarchy, but hiding in UK which is run by a Queen. Ironic. LM law originated in the UK isn't it?

The UK isn't run by The Queen. What persona are you today? Thai, Indian, Scottish or Troll?

[uptheos]

i really hope one day she will face a fair trial and prison sentence if proven guilty. treason can't be tolerated in any culture!

Did you have a particular country in mind?

[Puwa]

A few observations:

1) Look at the amazing power of Facebook as a platform for communication and debate. The world has changed immensely in 10 years.

2) There are some witty posts on this thread, especially those by UK nationals.

3) In my own experience, there are quite a few Thais in Thailand who hold similarly dissenting views, and they exist at all levels of society. Some express themselves crassly, some delicately. Sometimes when a Thai friend asks a foreigner, "What are your thoughts on the monarchy?", he is testing the waters, seeking an opportunity to share his own views. He feels he can't talk openly with other Thais outside his circle. But he knows that westerners may have a different outlook not only on institutions of royalty but freedom of speech too. But we tend to give a stock, uncritical reply--with good reason. In effect, we unknowingly cut off the conversation. This confuses him to no end. So I have learned to answer, "I don't know much about it, what do you think?"

4) I predict that in 10 years or less, we'll see a tearful and televised reconciliation between parents and daughter, because it's good for ratings.

5) "hair stylist" is itself an offensive phrase, though not one punishable under law, as far as I know.

6) As recently as the early 1990s, in the wake of a coup and bloody popular uprising against it, Bangkok's English press reported critically on the actions of the highest institution, publishing front-page headlines that would be unthinkable to an editor in today's climate. This leads me to believe that liberal and reactionary trends in free speech go in cycles.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Puwa