The Appeal Court has given a 3-year suspended sentence to a 29-year-old in a royal defamation case over a comment on a Facebook page.

Sindhu (pseudonym), a 29-year-old salesperson, was charged with royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crime Act over allegedly writing a comment deemed defamatory of the King and Queen, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).

The complaint against him was filed in 2022 by Songchai Niamhom, leader of the ultra-royalist King Protection Group, a group active in the southern provinces. Members of the group are reported to have filed complaints, especially royal defamation charges, against ordinary people and politicians. Sidhu, a resident in Chanthaburi province, had to travel over 1,000 kilometers to Phatthalung for court proceedings over three years.

The indictment stated that in June 2022, the FB page The MelaengtaD featured a picture of the King and Queen with a message stating that they had “never received a salary or an annual payment of 60 million baht from the government. All money is returned to the people every baht, every satang”.  A comment, allegedly posted from Sindhu’s account, said that the saved money will be put in their mouths after their deaths.

Sidhu admitted that he had an account but testified that he had been unable to access it since the beginning of 2022 and did not post anything. A Technology Crime Suppression Division investigation was unable to find the comment in question and a cybersecurity expert testified that URLs of the original post and the comment were not aligned and there was no IP address to verify the identity of the writer.

On 28 October 2024, the Phatthalung Provincial Court nonetheless sentenced him to three years in prison. Due to his helpful testimony, this was reduced to two years. The Court concluded that Sindhu had no evidence to prove his testimony, but granted him provisional bail with 200,000 baht as security.

TLHR reported on Tuesday (27 January) that the Appeal Court amended the initial sentence. It stated that due to his young age, he should be given a second chance and a three-year suspension, provided he performs activities in honour of the King as ordered.