Sondhi loses libel appeal, but jail term reduced

In the sentence reduction, the Court of Appeals cited Sondhi’s old age and altruism as grounds for leniency, saying he did not seek self-serving gain by defaming legal adviser Noppadon Pattama.

Following the reading of the appellate decision, the defence sought and received Bt100,000 bail pending a final review by the Supreme Court.Sondhi made his critical remarks against Noppadon in 2007, portraying the legal adviser as unworthy of a royal scholarship recipient because he worked for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Noppadon sued for libel, naming Sondhi, another five individuals and two media outlets on the list of defendants.

The lower court handed down its decision in 2009, finding Sondhi guilty of defamation.

It sentenced Sondhi to a jail term of six months. Two media outlets, Thaiday Dot Com and Manager Media Group, were liable to pay Bt20,000 in fines each for disseminating libelous remarks.

Sondhi, as well as the two media outlets, were to publish a summary of the verdict in three national newpapers, Thai Rath, Matichon and Daily News, for seven consecutive days.

The charges against five individual defendants were dismissed due to reasonable doubt about their involvement in the case.

In the appellate review, the higher court stood by the guilty verdict and cautioned Sondhi for smearing Noppadon instead of relying on legal proceedings to decide if his [Noppadon’s] work for Thaksin was unlawful as claimed.

The judicial decision rejected the defence’s plea for suspending the jail term, arguing the punishment should serve as a deterrent for a repeat offence.

It decided, however, to grant the sentence reduction. The penalty for publishing a summary of the verdict was cut to three days.

And charges pertaining to the two media outlets were dismissed, including the fines of Bt20,000 each.