The first draft bill proposed by the Surayud Chulanont government was debated for less than two hours in the early afternoon, with about 10 members of the 242-person assembly raising points about the bill.

Unlike an elected House, no heated exchanges took place, as there were neither government or opposition parties in the assembly. All NLA members were appointed by the leaders of the September 19 coup.

The bill, which aims to punish computer hackers and those who put pornography on the Internet, passed with 170 members in support. The second step will be further consideration by an ad-hoc panel, which could amend some elements of the new law.

NLA member Wallop Tangkhananurak urged the ad-hoc panel to amend the draft, which he said he believed gave too much power to state investigators. He feared it could allow them to seize suspects' computers or to take control of people's computer systems without clear evidence.

"The word 'believe' is not enough for such acts. Otherwise, officials could abuse their power to ask for bribes or benefit themselves," he said.

Another NLA member, Somkiat Onwimon, said the government should ensure that civil rights and freedom of expression would not be abused if the draft bill became law.

Information and Communications Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom insisted the proposed law would not violate the right of expression on websites or web-boards.

But he agreed the draft should be amended to limit the power of investigating officials before it was made law.

Weerayut Chokchaimadon

The Nation