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

[uptheos]

Looking at it from a Buddhist view, would the parents get merit or demerit?

Maybe best answered by a true Buddhist......with a reason if possible.

I would genuinely like to know the thinking on this.

Edited April 18, 2014 by uptheos

[Traveller45]

This censorship is absolute rubbish... I know how much most people love the monarchy and the King. Isn't that enough? Those few who for some reason have something against the family should be able to speak freely. But I guess I'm just dreaming again...

In Sweden we have monarchy. Thailand wouldn't believe their ears if they knew what our newspapers likes to write about our Nai Luang.

That being said, all respect to his majesty for being one of the best role models this nation has ever faced.

It's not the same in several ways. Thai society is a lot more fragile and fragmented than the Swedish, has a couple of most diverse ethnicities and interests to keep together. As such, a rigid enforcement of all that pertains to respect for the King makes sense. And then also, the role of the Swedish King is purely ceremonial (as a Swede with some authority in the matter told me, "all he does is blessing flowers", a pity if you ask me). I am not so sure that the role of the Thai King is so purely ceremonial.

Edited April 18, 2014 by Traveller45

[zydeco]

She has put her parents in the crosshairs. She had to know this could/would happen. BTW, I sure would not want to be one of her FB "friends" still living in Thailand, either.

[mrtoad]

Some prettty vile comments on her FB page. Really shows the mentality and frailty of Thailand and the Thais up.

It's always the same online if you look at any pages that maybe portrayed by Thais as critical of the country or the monarchy.

[max72]

Ok let's sum this up and put it to bed. A Thai born lady in her thirties but now a resident of the UK, has been stirring she shxxt on Facebook regarding the Tahi Royal Family.

Parents still in Thailand are being targeted by those fellow Thais who are incensed at this ladies comments. So parents report their daughter to the police in an attempt to bring charges, which basically says that the parents have had enough of the reaction they are getting from their daughters actions.

All very clear, but why couldn't they instead make it very clear to the public, that they totally disagreed with their daughters comments, and they could not be held responsible for such comments.

Taking the actions they have, is akin to cracking a peanut with a sledge hammer. But there again they may not be the brightest adverts for Thai parents and could think of no other way of defusing their situation.

I'm not 100% sure so I stand to be corrected, but I believe if you are a Thai citizen (in Thailand) and know for sure that someone is or has committed Le Majeste, then you have a responsibility to report them otherwise you are complicit.

That's what makes this law so frighteningly powerful.....how does one prove they did not say something derogatory?

what i am more scared of is about the inflamatories sms you might receive from a stranger (who can has sent it to the wrong number) and you should delete them in a short time otherwise you are punishable for lese majestee too.

Can you imagine if you are sleeping, a Thai stranger sent you a royal-family inflamatory sms in Thai, is some way this is intercepted because they guy was already under surveillance and while you are still sleeping or preparing your morning coffee, Thai police knocks at your door asking you to show your phone...

There is no excuse about "what is this" "i can't read Thai" "I was sleeping" "i don't know the sender" ....nothing...

Edited April 18, 2014 by max72

[uptheos]

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 knthe

the open and acceptable practice of racism is far more disrespectful than anything else.

How can you say that Thailand does not have such disrespectful people?

Look how you over charge foreigners, look at the human trafficking, look at how you treat the

the Rhohynga, look how you treat your own people that you call mountain people.

The Thai disrespect anybody that is not Thai and that's despicable.

How would you feel to see someone's life destroyed because someone else said they disrespected you

when actually they didn't? This is not respect at all. This is 3rd world mentality at it's best.

Often referred to by lowland Thai's as, 'those monkeys from the hills'.

Edited April 18, 2014 by metisdead
15) Do not make changes to quoted material that changes the intended meaning of the quoted post

[spermwhale]

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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

What a joker you are. The Snowden situation is about stolen files not about freedom of speech. The UK and USA are some of the most free countries the world has ever seen and speech is not stifled.

[max72]

This censorship is absolute rubbish... I know how much most people love the monarchy and the King. Isn't that enough? Those few who for some reason have something against the family should be able to speak freely. But I guess I'm just dreaming again...

In Sweden we have monarchy. Thailand wouldn't believe their ears if they knew what our newspapers likes to write about our Nai Luang.

That being said, all respect to his majesty for being one of the best role models this nation has ever faced.

It's not the same in several ways. Thai society is a lot more fragile and fragmented than the Swedish, has a couple of most diverse ethnicities and interests to keep together. As such, a rigid enforcement of all that pertains to respect for the King makes sense. And then also, the role of the Swedish King is purely ceremonial (as a Swede with some authority in the matter told me, "all he does is blessing flowers", a pity if you ask me). I am not so sure that the role of the Thai King is so purely ceremonial.

In the long term this won't work.

All the mess we are seeing now (which is just the appetizer) is for the incapacity or unwilling of Thais to get deeper into the root of their problems.

Thais should get rid of their fears and ghosts and be free to talk about any issue, otherwise the other way is the explosion of violence.

This is the result of generations of oppression. Thais are human beings like us, they have not any genetic difference which prevents them to be free.It's just some culture injected by brainwashing since they are children. Few years ago HM The King invited people to express their criticims freely, but clearly there is an interest from another group of people not to allow it. During the past not elected regime, a tape was found where top army generals were talking bad stuff about the monarchy, but nothing happened to them.... I am little bit out of the topic, but my opinion is that Thais are being driven to catalyze their unquestionable love towards this institution/family by the real power of Thailand (some billionaire families and the army)

Edited April 18, 2014 by max72

[Morch]

I'll venture a guess that the the OP is just the latest episode in this family's messed up relationship.

Hard to judge or to lay blame as this really sounds a little weird.

Wonder if there any siblings.

[edwinchester]

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.

I asked my Thai wife. She gave me a lovely answer about how much she loved her own parents.

[ezzra]

Oh my god. What an unholy mess that is. She will never come back to Thailand now.

These laws have to be changed.

Nothing is wrong with the law, plenty wrong with stupid people who has nothing better to do

than engage in situation where she knows very well infuriate a whole nation,, some subjects

are better expressed in privacy of your home and to a very select group of people not on

social media...

[Lupatria]

2557 or 1984? Punishment for thought crime and speech crime should not apply to any citizen no matter where.

[Rumblecat]

What I find interesting is that it's a relatively recent law- it's not something that existed for centuries and centuries, and it's only really in the 21st Century that accusations of it and court cases started flying about (an increase of over a thousand percent or something from previous time periods).

Edited April 18, 2014 by Rumblecat

[navara]

" To love, no matter what ". This is the only correct way to behave towards your children.

[msealey]

I go to temple and wish the lucky thing for this girl come back Thailand

[BillyBobThai]

One thing I like about the USA is that we do have free speech but we can carry a firearm while we say it.

[realenglish1]

Everyone is missing the point here . No one and I mean no one should take the law into their own hands. If she committed a crime under Thai law then the courts not neighbors of the parents should act out.

No Thai citizen has the right to retaliate on a family because then are angry at that person. I dont agree with the LM laws but I also do not agree that others are upset so they are making the life of the parents miserable . Thais must grow up and be adult about this

[steveromagnino]

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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

What a joker you are. The Snowden situation is about stolen files not about freedom of speech. The UK and USA are some of the most free countries the world has ever seen and speech is not stifled.

If British law is so free, why do people so frequently complain about British libel law (burden of proof placed on the defendant as per the McLibel case)?

You state that Snowden is not about freedom of speech refer quote below - if this is the case why does UK only rate at 33rd in freedom of the press - I would not really describe that as 'some of the most free'?

http://rsf.org/index2014/en-eu.php

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/content/uk-slips-33rd-place-reporters-without-borders-world-press-freedom-index-2014

"The United Kingdom (33rd, -3) distinguished itself in the war on terror by the disgraceful pressure it put on The Guardian newspaper and by its detention of David Miranda, journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner and assistant, for nine hours. Both the US and UK authorities seem obsessed with hunting down whistleblowers instead of adopting legislation to rein in abusive surveillance practices that negate privacy, a democratic value cherished in both countries."

Edited April 18, 2014 by steveromagnino

[Beetlejuice]

she came to sense to like the western culture more than thai culture and now her parents are losing face..

We do not know exactly what is involved here regarding the parents and so there is no point in assuming anything.

I wonder how this girl managed to establish herself in Britain in the first place and she is now using Britain as a sanctuary to protect her while she attacks the system of another country, which could be regarded as treason. If found guilty of Lese majeste I wonder if Thailand could insist that she is extradited back to Thailand to face charges, and if that happens the girl will then claim political asylum and therefore involving Britain in a diplomatic dispute.

The bottom line being, that this woman is big trouble and anyone would have to be crazy to support or become involved with her, plus I also wonder if she is just a front for some ultra extremest political group?

Edited April 18, 2014 by Beetlejuice

[Lupatria]

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.

To help me fully understand your post, would you mind to give me a definition of the term ‘love’ in your very own words?

[choff56]

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This censorship is absolute rubbish... I know how much most people love the monarchy and the King. Isn't that enough? Those few who for some reason have something against the family should be able to speak freely. But I guess I'm just dreaming again...

In Sweden we have monarchy. Thailand wouldn't believe their ears if they knew what our newspapers likes to write about our Nai Luang.

That being said, all respect to his majesty for being one of the best role models this nation has ever faced.

Antiquated laws produce antiquated thinking, you have question why a law such as this would be allowed in a democracy

It's not.

[msealey]

Anyone have De Ja Vue here? Yep this poor girl is Edward Snowden 2.0 by anyones estimations. I wonder what the Pommies next move will be? probably to chase her off into exile in chilly Russia.

[ThaiSold]

with parents like that who needs enemies

[Always18]

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.

Thankfully (although, perhaps, a little unbelievably), you do have the right to love your king more than your own parents - what you should not have (and do not have) is the right to impose your ridiculous restrictions on free speech to citizens residing in other sovereign countries.......................

[SLESQ]

Perhaps the hard-hearts and hard-heads on this post might consider that parents of young adults still love them even as they are not in our control.... I have four and know the truth of that!

Here, the parents if they had consulted with me would be following my advice in a purely pro-actively defensive posture to protect themselves from some idiot zealot who has or will claim the parents are responsible and seek to punish them for the acts of their independent and emancipated adult child.

The rationale being: "we are not responsible and are even suing to stop her from being so foolish."

It may seem foolish to the hard hearts and hard hearts, but then, some laws are foolish on their face yet are still the law.

My other advice would be for the parents to sue the idiots attacking them: the charge would be defamation as that is the favored weapon of choice.

[Thongkorn]

She's a British citizen residing in London.

She can say what she wishes.

Exactly we fought wars for freedom of speech , but you should still show respect,

She should have learned the British saying, " If you cannot say anything Nice don't say anything at all."

[msealey]

I wonder who grassed the parents to the press?

[Briandajew]

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.

Be careful what you say about the UK, it really does not have freedom of speech nor the right to freedom of speech in the same way that the US has it in its constitution - The UK have a sly and devious way of turning what could be construed as free speech into "Hate Speech" - however, it is a lot more free than these archaic laws here in Thailand.

[msealey]

She's a British citizen residing in London.

She can say what she wishes.

Exactly we fought wars for freedom of speech , but you should still show respect,

She should have learned the British saying, " If you cannot say anything Nice don't say anything at all."

Technically American from the 1942 hit movie Bambi

[toooa]

Absolutism is rarely a wise path...false morality is a plague.