Arrest warrant issued as accused skips ruling

The defendant had posted a message on the now-defunct Prachatai webboard in 2007 that was deemed a violation of Article 112 and the Computer Crime Act BE 2550 – charges she has denied. 

However, she did not show up at the court yesterday. Only her father, who acts as her bailsman and lawyer, came to the court.

He told the court that he had been unable to contact Noppawan.

The court deemed her failure to show up as intentional. Therefore, the arrest warrant was issued and the bail of Bt1 million seized. 

The court yesterday scheduled another hearing on October 20 at 9.30am. Also, the bailsman-cum-lawyer was ordered to bring Noppawan to the court or the verdict would be announced in her absence.

Noppawan’s father revealed that he had talked to her on the phone and asked her to attend court and she had agreed to do so. However, he has been unable to contact her since September 8 Tuesday, he said. 

In January 2011, a lower court dismissed the case against Noppawan as evidence produced by public prosecutors – an IP address belonging to her computer – could not prove that she was the person who had posted the offensive message in question.

However, the prosecutors appealed against the ruling. In October 2013, the Appeals Court reversed the lower court’s verdict. It noted that a prosecution witness who was a public servant had insisted that tampering with an IP address was difficult. Also, to post a message on the webboard, the user was required to provide a password, which was enough to prove that Noppawan had posted the message. 

The court ruled that she had breached the Computer Crime Act and Article 112 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum five-year imprisonment. Noppawan, however, appealed against the ruling and was released on Bt1 million bail.