The chief of police in Khon Kaen province is denying any costs have been laid against an activist despatched to a psychiatric hospital there in reference to a possible lèse-majesté crime earlier this month. Elusive reports that forty seven yr old activist Tiwagorn Withiton, who posted footage of himself carrying a T-shirt with a message relating to the monarchy, is still at the hospital.
“It is a medical issue and he’s being treated accordingly.”
The director of Khon Kaen Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital says medical doctors nonetheless have Tiwagorn under statement and are but to come back to a conclusion on his psychological condition. He says there’s a time-frame to think about beneath Thai legal guidelines on mental well being, and doctors will think about whether or not his mental situation “responds to therapy throughout this time.”
He mentioned that Tiwagorn has responded well and family members can go to him freely, similar to different patients.
The director-general of the Public Mental Health Department says a patient’s admission to a psychiatric hospital may be accomplished voluntarily, with the consent of household, or by a court order, and that Tiwagorn’s case was voluntary.
However Tiwagorn’s mother claims officers turned up at his home on July 9 to arrest him. She says though she was far away her son appeared to resist being arrested earlier than being bundled right into a hospital vehicle.
In a related story, His Majesty the King has already stated he doesn’t wish to use Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté laws, which make it a crime to insult or criticise the royal household, but PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says folks ought to still watch out what they say about the monarchy.
Some Thais charged with lèse-majesté offences have fled the country. Political activist Wanchalearm Satsakit, who was allegedly abducted in Cambodia in June, fled Thailand in 2014 after he was charged with violating the Computer Crime Act for running a Facebook web page important of the monarchy and the army government.
The PM says he has no concept why some have fled. He says the lèse-majesté legislation has not been used for a quantity of years, however there are penalties for distorting details about the monarchy..