Baan muang columnist Chalarm Kheo

In Media

Thailand is looking more and more like a police state. As I write this, I am struck by the news that two persons have been charged with feeding untrue information through a computer system which undermined the security of the nation. They have been accused of spreading rumours about the King's health.

Apparently a translation of a foreign news article is at the heart of this case. This incident is too scary for me.

The rumours caused the SET index to plunge, and those who hate deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra quickly claimed that his brother and two other persons were responsible for spreading the bad news.

Key government figures promptly ordered the police to arrest people who spread the rumours. The police initially hesitated, as the alleged crime was a violation of the Computer Crimes Act. Nonetheless, the issue was magnified as a threat against national security.

It is laughable that one can be arrested for translating news and posting it on a website. Indeed, Thailand is looking more like Germany when it was run by Adolf Hitler and his secret police. No one is safe when their private email can be monitored.