Thai 20s National Assembly Member Sentenced to 6 Years for 'Royal Insult Crime'

On the 13th (local time), the Bangkok Post reported that a 20-something opposition member of Thailand's 20th National Assembly was sentenced to six years in prison for lese-majeste.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to the report, the Criminal Court of Thailand sentenced Rakchanok Sinok (29), a member of the Move Forward Party (MFP), to six years in prison for lese-majeste and violation of the Computer Crime Act.

The court stated that Rakchanok posted photos of the Thai king and posts related to vaccine allocation on her Twitter between July 18 and August 9, 2021, and retweeted posts by other users expressing great malice toward the Thai king, which was the reason for the guilty verdict. Rakchanok denied all charges.

However, the court approved Rakchanok's temporary release until the appeal process is completed. The bail was set at 500,000 baht (approximately 18.4 million KRW). As a result, Rakchanok was able to retain her parliamentary seat. The newspaper reported that if Rakchanok had been detained by the court, she could have lost her seat.

Rakchanok ran as an MFP candidate in Bangkok's 28th electoral district in the Thai general election last May and was elected as a member of the National Assembly, defeating the incumbent by more than 20,000 votes. On the day of Rakchanok's court appearance, Pita Limjaroenrat, MFP's chief advisor, and Chaitawat Tulathon, MFP's leader, accompanied her.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.