An international media rights group has called for the dismissal of "baseless" charges against three people accused of spreading false rumours about His Majesty the King's health that sent stocks plunging last month.
Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday the three Thai internet users arrested in Thailand were being mad "scapegoats" for October's drop in the market over concerns about the condition of His Majesty.
"We call for the charges against these three internet users to be dismissed," said group's statemen said.
Such accusations are baseless and violate the right to report an economic event after it has taken place. Explaining that the stock exchange fall was linked to His Majesty's health harms neither the King nor national security."
The 81-year-old monarch was admitted to hospital in mid-September with a lung infection and fever. He condition is said to have improved to the point he can stand and move with the aid of a walker.
On Sunday police arrested Katha Pajariyapong, of brokerage company KT ZMICO, and Theeranan Vipuchanin, a former executive with UBS Securities, for allegedly damaging national security by posting false information on the internet.
Somjet Sitthiworakul was then arrested on Tuesday on the same charge, under the Computer Crimes Act. If convicted they could face up to five years in jail or a 100,000 baht fine.
Police also planned to seek a warrant in a few days for the arrest of a fourth suspect behind the spreading of the rumours.
The Thai bourse plunged 8.22 percent at one point on Oct 15 over the rumours.
Reporters without Borders said the defendants had only posted articles online that linked the fall in stocks to the fact that His Majesty was admitted to Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital on Sept 19.
The media group said Ms Theeranan pointed out that she had only translated and posted a Bloomberg News agency article written after the fall and that she was not paid to do so.
"It seems that the translation of the Bloomberg dispatch is the only piece of hard evidence in the prosecution case file," the statement said.
"The investigators have not mentioned the original article and have referred only to the translation, which reinforces the impression that the three defendants are being used as scapegoats for the fall in stocks."
Police investigators say they are still preparing the cae against the accused. from inside and outside the country.
On Wednesday, police sources said an investigator had gone abroad to gather information.
Pol Col Phisit Pao-in, deputy chief of the Economic and Cyber Crime Division, is thought to have flown to Singapore as the rumours could have been started overseas.
Pol Maj-Gen Panya Mamen, deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau, also said investigators would look into whether websites where the rumours were posted were directly involved in spreading the rumours.
He said the webmasters would be called for questioning and would face prosecution if they were found to have failed to stop the posting of false information causing harm to the country.
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- Writer: Online Reporters and AFP
