Sorcery and religious rites that are deeply imbedded in Thai society have been in the spotlight as mainstream media outlets have joined hands with vigilantes to expose monastic malpractice and cults. Calls for professionalism that have long been overshadowed by competition for audiences have been sounded again.

Vocational Students Protecting the Institution have admitted that their members took part in assaults of a photojournalist and another citizen after a protest on 22 April. Despite the attacker being temporarily banished from the group, concerns remain over media safety and the likelihood of further hate crimes.

Although it’s now common for royal insult defendants to be freed on bail, their freedom often comes with vague conditions like bans on joining protests that could lead to “chaos” or doing anything that “damages” the monarchy. Experts question whether these conditions may violate the rights to free expression. 

Individuals accused of insulting the monarchy are paying astronomical sums of money – sometimes in the millions of baht – to secure their freedom while their cases are ongoing, a practice that one law scholar said could amount to violating the constitutional right to a fair trial.

See inside the dark abyss of an online business in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville where over 20 Thais were tricked into leaving home for a promising salary, only to find themselves forced to work in an online fraud scheme, a growing trend in illegal work that shades into human trafficking and modern day slavery in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.