Facebookers Face 8 Years in Jail for Criticizing Krabi Cops

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.”

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 Here – Khaosod English

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