Facebookers Face 8 Years in Jail for Criticizing Thai Cops

[webfact]

Facebookers Face 8 Years in Jail for Criticizing Krabi Cops
By Teeranai Charuvastra
Staff Reporter


Sukanya Laiban and Peerasuth Woharn at Krabi Police Station Nov. 22.

KRABI — Police officers in southern Thailand have charged two people with libel and other offenses for criticizing the police force online.

Sukanya Laiban, 23, and Peerasuth Woharn, 22, now face jail time for their online complaints; the former ranting against a traffic cop who told her to move her car; the latter for writing that police ignored his calls about a violent crime.

“I want this to be a moral lesson to warn people who post stuff on social media,” Col. Sompong Thip-aphakul, head of the Krabi Police Station, told Khaosod English today. “We are not being vengeful. We are just doing our duty. Some people just don’t understand our work, and I guess we cannot make everyone understand our work.”

Police Weigh Libel for Woman’s Anti-Cop Rant

Both Sukanya and Peerasuth were charged during the weekend with defamation, insulting law enforcement officials on duty and violating the Computer Crime Act, a controversial law that criminalizes a wide range of actions on the internet, such as making statements deemed “false” or “defamatory” to others.

The pair surrendered to police Sunday and were later released on bail, Sompong said.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1448268875

-- Khaosod English 2015-11-23

[Thai at Heart]

Well an 8 year sentence isn't a moral lessons is it, it's a legal one. Duh

[smedly]

if the service isn't good enough then expect to be criticised, it's all part of feedback and continued improvements

and if you think you are beyond criticism be careful about the can of worms you are about to open, it will come back and bite you hard

If this woman broke the law then prosecute her for the offence she committed and move on, this libel accusation is pure nonsense and any reasonable court will see it that way

[MZurf]

if the service isn't good enough then expect to be criticised, it's all part of feedback and continued improvements

and if you think you are beyond criticism be careful about the can of worms you are about to open, it will come back and bite you hard

If this woman broke the law then prosecute her for the offence she committed and move on, this libel accusation is pure nonsense and any reasonable court will see it that way

"...any reasonable court will see it that way."

Well, herein lies the problem for the accused.

[Pimay1]

Some people just don’t understand our work, and I guess we cannot make everyone understand our work.”

That's a classic.

[xerostar]

An unbelievable distortion of justice if this pair get any jail time.

[Bluespunk]

"Peerasuth said he called officers at Krabi Police Station about the incident, but no one picked up the phone, so he took the woman to the hospital on his own. Even after the woman was admitted at the hospital, no officer showed up to assist her, he wrote.

“So, these are police that serve the people? If the victim was your own relative, what would you think? This kind of thing happens almost every day, but don’t you dickheads think about fixing it at all?” he wrote in a post set to be publically viewable.

Sompong said Peerasuth’s account of events was false, because the man in fact never alerted his station to the incident.

“He said he was angry that he called us and we didn’t respond to the scene. But actually, he was calling 191. He never called us. And maybe the 191 people didn’t pick up the phone, that’s why he got angry,” Sompong said."

Teaching a moral lesson?

Yeah, right, that's what's happening here.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Bluespunk

[GarryP]

This country seems to be getting worse in regard to freedom of speech. First it is do not criticize or comment on the Ratchapakdi Park fiasco (despite it being so obvious that corruption was involved), do not comment on politics or present political opinions even if you are a university lecturer teaching political science, and now do not criticize the police. Next it will be "Do not criticize the ban on criticism."

Bloody hell, when are they going to introduce thought police to this new Orwellian state.

[h90]

This country seems to be getting worse in regard to freedom of speech. First it is do not criticize or comment on the Ratchapakdi Park fiasco (despite it being so obvious that corruption was involved), do not comment on politics or present political opinions even if you are a university lecturer teaching political science, and now do not criticize the police. Next it will be "Do not criticize the ban on criticism."

Bloody hell, when are they going to introduce thought police to this new Orwellian state.

this crazy libel laws are since a longer time in power....Someone recall who made them?

[worgeordie]

We better be careful on here too,if they ever get to read some

of what is said about them on here,there could be a few arrests,

they are very sensitive,8 years is more than you would get for

murder !.

regards Worgeordie

[GarryP]

We better be careful on here too,if they ever get to read some

of what is said about them on here,there could be a few arrests,

they are very sensitive,8 years is more than you would get for

murder !.

regards Worgeordie

It's okay. I will tell them you put me up to it.

[BigBadGeordie]

We better be careful on here too,if they ever get to read some

of what is said about them on here,there could be a few arrests,

they are very sensitive,8 years is more than you would get for

murder !.

regards Worgeordie

It's okay. I will tell them you put me up to it.

Same for me, bl**dy Geordies, all trouble makers!

[tomacht8]

"We are just doing our duty. Some people just don’t understand our work, and I guess we cannot make everyone understand our work.”

I think that's quite the opposite.
Many understand here exactly how the police "works".

[Oziex1]

Vengeful, spiteful, trivial, immature, predictable and typical.

[thesetat2013]

This country seems to be getting worse in regard to freedom of speech. First it is do not criticize or comment on the Ratchapakdi Park fiasco (despite it being so obvious that corruption was involved), do not comment on politics or present political opinions even if you are a university lecturer teaching political science, and now do not criticize the police. Next it will be "Do not criticize the ban on criticism."

Bloody hell, when are they going to introduce thought police to this new Orwellian state.

Next will be charging the people who click 'like' on a comment that is criticizing them. Be Warned!!! Be Careful!!

[DM07]

...whereas rapists and murderers are not seeing any jailtime, are out on bail or curing a cold in Singapore...

[nikmar]

We better be careful on here too,if they ever get to read some

of what is said about them on here,there could be a few arrests,

they are very sensitive,8 years is more than you would get for

murder !.

regards Worgeordie

But not as much as you get for picking mushrooms.

[choff56]

Can't wait for the "Thailand Spring".

[Olgab]

This is a new North Korea.

[chainarong]

One cannot be surprised by this result, it is just a case of don't do as I do , Do as I say , that was also a problem with Thaksin's administration , they don't mind dishing it out but pretty thin skinned on their own patch, of course this can't apply to sites outside of Thailand especially the ones in English and have I seen some crude descriptions about the RTP in western press blogs, some from experience tourists have had..................

[thelonius]

This country seems to be getting worse in regard to freedom of speech. First it is do not criticize or comment on the Ratchapakdi Park fiasco (despite it being so obvious that corruption was involved), do not comment on politics or present political opinions even if you are a university lecturer teaching political science, and now do not criticize the police. Next it will be "Do not criticize the ban on criticism."

Bloody hell, when are they going to introduce thought police to this new Orwellian state.

this crazy libel laws are since a longer time in power....Someone recall who made them?

Do you have access to an internet browser or another information resource? Defamation has been a criminal offence under the Penal Code since 1957, so what was your point again? You did have a point, didn't you?

[pistachios]

Well, let's just hope thai police doesn't start browsing english forums...

[mcfish]

Im really surprised they haven't gone after any TV members that rant at police non stop. A foreigner trashing the police would be a good target for obvious reasons

[kaorop]

We better be careful on here too,if they ever get to read some

of what is said about them on here,there could be a few arrests,

they are very sensitive,8 years is more than you would get for

murder !.

regards Worgeordie

2 things

English is poor and will only get worse with the doors closing

Cant charge social media outbreaks coming from other countries

Its laughable that they say this is not vindictive, when it plainly is

Bizzaro Land where up is down, left is right, you say hello when you leave and goodbye when you arrive

[h90]

This country seems to be getting worse in regard to freedom of speech. First it is do not criticize or comment on the Ratchapakdi Park fiasco (despite it being so obvious that corruption was involved), do not comment on politics or present political opinions even if you are a university lecturer teaching political science, and now do not criticize the police. Next it will be "Do not criticize the ban on criticism."

Bloody hell, when are they going to introduce thought police to this new Orwellian state.

this crazy libel laws are since a longer time in power....Someone recall who made them?

Do you have access to an internet browser or another information resource? Defamation has been a criminal offence under the Penal Code since 1957, so what was your point again? You did have a point, didn't you?

no there was a change afterwards

[swissie]

A Farang Buddy of mine has been selling Condo's for the last 17 years in Pattaya.

These days he has 2 categories of clients left:

- Long term Farang residents are clearly on the sellers side.

- Only "new Farang's" are left on the buyers side.

Witch side is better equipped to assess "where Thailand is going" ?

Should this tell us something?

Cheers.

[WhizBang]

Col. Sompong Thip-aphakul needs to look up the definition of 'free speech', a hallmark of democracy. He should also be charged with abuse of authority.

The sooner the Thai libel and defamation laws are rescinded, the better/

[Bluespunk]

Im really surprised they haven't gone after any TV members that rant at police non stop. A foreigner trashing the police would be a good target for obvious reasons

The reason being the truth hurts?

[bwpage3]

The beginning of communism.

[Ceruhe]

This country seems to be getting worse in regard to freedom of speech.

It may be so in terms against officials with a power trip that can't sustain it, for all I know police just about are as useless as it gets here, wouldn't see a difference whatsoever if they wouldn't be around anymore...well I lied...traffic would probably flow a little bit better again.

It's a totally different story however in the <deleted> west, where a man is being charged with criminal harrasment simply for disagreeing with a feminist. Thailand ain't got shit on that level of retardation yet.