A red shirt-aligned singer and actor known as Tom Dundee unexpectedly confessed to lese majeste charges before the Criminal Court on Monday.
Lese majeste defendant Thanat Thanawatcharanont, aka "Tom Dundee".
The 58-year-old performer, whose real name is Thanat Thanawatcharanont, was in court for his second hearing. The court was set to deliver its ruling on Wednesday.
Mr Thanat was arrested on July 9, 2014 and has been imprisoned since. He was re-arrested only two weeks after being released on bail for refusing to report to the National Council for Peace and Order.
Prosecutors alleged he made defamatory remarks and gestures against the monarchy while addressing red-shirt demonstrators at a rally in Bangkok's Laksi area on Nov 13, 2013. He denied the charges, but did an about-face in court on Monday.
Confessions often result in jail sentences being halved.
"It's clear that lawsuits against me are all politically-motivated and likely to be lengthy and complicated," Mr Thanat told the Bangkok Post.
"I'm not a warrior. I'm just an entertainer. My job is to make people happy."
