Top court upholds sentence against Jatuporn
UPHOLDING THE lower courts' ruling, the Supreme Court yesterday handed down a two-years suspended sentence to red-shirt co-leader Jatuporn Promphan for defaming former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, inciting public hatred against him and accusing the former PM of
The Criminal and Appeals courts had previously sentenced Jatuporn to six months in jail and fined him Bt50,000. The sentence was suspended for two years on grounds that Jatuporn had never served time.
The lawsuit filed by Abhisit said that Jatuporn had taken to the stage during the 2010 red-shirt protest and accused the former PM of being a draft-dodger and ordering the killing of people. The suit said Jatuporn did not just make the accusation before the crowd but also via the People Channel, which was broadcast live across the country.
The Supreme Court acquitted Jatuporn of libel for accusing Abhisit of being a draft-dodger, saying it was an honest comment and at the time as an opposition MP, Jatuporn also asked Abhisit in Parliament about the draft-dodging accusations.
However, the court found Jatuporn guilty of defaming Abhisit by accusing him of plotting clashes between the authorities and the red-shirt protesters at Chulalongkorn Hospital so he could order a crackdown on the protesters. The court said no such clashes had taken place.
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