Paint sprayer on Thai court's name plate gets one-year suspended jail term

[webfact]

Paint sprayer on court’s name plate gets one-year suspended jail term for court contempt



BANGKOK: - The Criminal Court today sentenced a former student to one month in prison after finding him guilty of court contempt for spraying paints of the “anarchy” symbol on the court’s nameplate.

Nattapol Khem-ngeram, 22, now an artist working for a film shooting studio, pleaded guilty to the charge saying he was upset when there was no progress in the investigation of a shooting in which his senior colleague was shot dead by a soldier.

A court official filed court contempt charge against him, in addition to damaging property charge to be filed by Phaholyothin police, when he was brought by police for court’s permission for extended detention.

In the hearing of court contempt charge, Nattapol told the court that the soldier was arrested and now was on trial at the military court which he said until today there was no progress.

But he said that he sprayed the symbol with no political motive, claiming that it is only a symbol of a foreign musical band.

After hearing his confession, the court sentenced him to one month in prison.

But after considering the fact that it was his first time offence, the court commuted the sentence to one year suspended jail term instead.

The court also required him to report the correction officials four times within a year.

Earlier in the day, the Phaholyothin police also escorted him to the Criminal Court for a 12-day extension of detention for question. The request for extended detention was permitted by the court.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/paint-sprayer-on-courts-name-plate-gets-one-year-suspended-jail-term-for-court-contempt


-- Thai PBS 2015-05-28

[SOTIRIOS]

....seems like this was settled a little too neatly....

[quandow]

....seems like this was settled a little too neatly....

Makes you wonder if he's related to someone HiSo.

[Morakot]

....seems like this was settled a little too neatly....

What? Elsewhere people get 30 hours community service and a small fine.

Some might say, it's outrages that he was done for contempt of court in addition to vandalism.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Morakot