Lese majeste charged accepted
Public prosecutors yesterday indicted media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul and Kom Chad Luek editor Chaliew Kongtuk on lese majeste charges with the Criminal Court.
The prosecution writ stated that before the alleged offence was committed, His Majesty the King exercised his administrative prerogative through the Cabinet of then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.Last year, Thaksin forwarded two royal decrees to the Royal Household that set in motion the corporatisation of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand as Egat Plc. One identified the power, rights and interests of Egat Plc and the other gave the time-frame to revoke the laws governing the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. The King endorsed the decrees and Thaksin signed them into law, effective June 24. On March 23 the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the decrees to be rescinded, forcing Egat Plc to revert back to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. The suit said Sondhi, the first defendant, knew the King did not need to take responsibility for endorsing royal decrees in any case. Despite that, the first defendant gave an interview in which he mentioned in a slandering way the role of His Majesty in the Egat debacle. Kom Chad Luek published Sondhi's comments on March 24. On April 17 and 28, the two suspects surrendered to police to face charges, which both denied. The court will rule on November 27 whether the case merits a trial. Both defendants were released on bail.
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