Outside the 'South': Facebook User in Thailand Facing 32 Years in Prison for hitting the lik
BY TRACE WILLIAM COWEN
No matter how dramatic you think your Facebook friends are, it’s never this serious.
A Facebook user in Thailand has been arrested for liking a photo onFacebook and now faces decades in jail, according to the Bangkok Post. Thanakorn Siripaiboon, a 27-year-old auto factory worker, was arrested this week and charged with sedition and "computer crimes." Why, you ask?
"On December 2, he clicked ‘Like’ on a doctored photo of the King and shared it with 608 friends," Col. Burin Thongprapai tells AFP. The man had allegedly liked a "doctored photo of HM the King" and shared an "infographic" about the Rajabhakti Park scandal. Siripaiboon has reportedly confessed to the charges brought against him and is facing "up to" 32 years in prison.
If 32 years in prison for some Facebooking sounds harsh, well, just consult Thailand's laws. Anyone convicted of insulting the King, Queen, heir or regent is subject to a possible 15 years for each count.
Rajabhakti Park, a costly tourist attraction currently facing scrutiny for alleged kickbacks, was also at the center of another recent Facebook arrest. Just last month, a woman turned herself in to authorities and was charged with sedition for sharing the exact same “infographic” referencing the scandal. According to the Post, that woman remains under investigation.