Khon Kaen man who spray-painted ‘No 112’ message will appeal
PUBLISHED : 4 Jul 2024 at 15:18
A man who spray-painted an anarchist symbol and the number 112 — a reference to the lese-majeste law — on the wall of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha last year has been sentenced to eight months in jail without suspension for vandalism.
Suttawee “Bang-urn” Soikham, 26, is appealing the Criminal Court ruling and has posted bail.
The native of Khon Kaen was seen by two police officers on March 28 last year spray-painting an anarchist symbol and the number 112 on the exterior wall of the temple that is part of the Grand Palace compound in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok. The number 112 represents Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law.
He was immediately arrested and taken to Metropolitan Police Division 6 for questioning.
On Thursday morning, Suttawee, accompanied by a lawyer, arrived at the court to hear the ruling. Two friends who face the same charges showed up to give him moral support.
He was found guilty of violating the Ancient Monuments, Antique Objects and National Museum Act and Cleanliness Act and initially sentenced to one year in jail. The court commuted the jail term by one third to eight months, without suspension, because he confessed.
Cases are still pending against two journalists who were at the scene when the act of vandalism took place. Police did not charge them until Feb 13 this year.
Freelance news photographer Nattaphon Phanphongsanon said after his arrest that he and Nuttaphol Meksobhon, a reporter for the online news outlet Prachatai, were just doing their jobs and had no other involvement.
The police said they had CCTV footage of the two journalists and the artist “planning” the spray-painting exploit. However, there is no audio and it is not clear what the people in the video might be discussing.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
