Jeng gets two years over lese majeste

The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced government adviser and red-shirt leader Yossawaris Chuklom to two years in prison for lese majeste.

He was released on Bt500,000 bail, and is free, pending an appeal.

"I respect the court's ruling, but I still maintain that I had no intention to violate the lese majeste law," Yossawaris said, adding that he has always been loyal to the King and has organised events to celebrate the King's birthday for almost 20 years.

The court found Yossawaris guilty of insulting His Majesty the King in a speech he made at a United Front for Demo-cracy Against Dictatorship rally on March 29, 2010. Yossawaris, who is an adviser to the Commerce Ministry, is also a comedian who goes by the stage name Jeng Dokjik.

The court initially sentenced Yossawaris to three years but reduced the sentence to two years because of his cooperative testimony.

Deputy Commerce Minister Natthawut Saikua said he was confident of his adviser's innocence and said he would use his position as a member of Parliament to guarantee Yossawaris' bail.