The police have issued a summons for an anti-junta historian and former rector of Thammasat University for sharing a fake news report about a purse of Prayut’s wife.  

 

On 23 January 2018, Pol Col Olarn Sukkasem from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) revealed that investigators had summoned the renowned historian, Charnvit Kasetsiri, to report on Friday.

 

Charnvit was accused of disseminating forged computer data likely to cause damage to a third party, a violation the Computer Crimes Act. If found guilty, he will face up to five years in jail, a fine of up to 100,00 baht, or both. 

 

The accusation emerged after the historian shared on his Facebook account a false news report that Naraporn Chan-ocha, wife of junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha, used a two-million-bath Hermes purse, while it is, in fact, a product of Thailand’s Royal Folk Arts And Crafts Centre and costs no more than 10,000 baht. 

 

Charnvit is a former President of Thammasat University. He is a pro-democracy academic and often criticises the junta via his Facebook account.

 

He vowed to fight the case immediately after the TCSD showed its intention to prosecute him.