<div>An optometrist in northern Thailand has been indicted for defaming then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn last year.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><img alt="" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5568/15214891692_d9b2535c96_b.jpg" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 29 December 2016, Sarawut (surname withheld due to privacy reasons), aged 32, was indicted in a military court in Chiang Rai Province for violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law, and the Computer Crimes Act, which outlaws the importation of illegal </div>

<p>A mentally ill Thai accused of defaming the monarchy has retracted his pre-trial statement and pleaded guilty as charged, saying that he could no longer stand a lengthy court process. &nbsp;</p>

<p>The military court in Chiang Rai held the first hearing of a lèse majesté trial despite an obvious lack of intention on the part of the defendant who allegedly was out of his mind when committing the crime.</p> <p>The military court of the northern province of Chiang Rai on Monday held the first witness hearing in the case against Samak P., a 48 year-old farmer accused of tearing up a picture of the King and the Queen and carrying a weapon (a knife) in public.</p>