The Criminal Court has handed an 18-month jail term to a hacker who changed the name of the Constitutional Court to "Kangaroo Court" on its official website.
Wachira Suphasatien, 34, was punished for illegally accessing a computer system with specific security measures that were not intended for his use, according to the Computer-Related Crime Act.
He was charged under Section 5 of the computer crime law, which involves accessing the data of a computer system with measures to limit its access. The offence is punishable by a jail term of up to two years, a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both.
Wachira's legal representative, Noraset Nanongtoom, a lawyer from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, said the Constitutional Court had demanded 10.2 million baht in compensation for the damage done to its reputation.
However, Mr Noraset said this could only be granted as the result of a criminal petition, according to the Criminal Code, so the court dismissed the claim.
A day after the Constitutional Court issued its ruling against public discussion of reform of the monarchy on Nov 10, 2021, its home page was renamed "Kangaroo Court" and the content replaced by a YouTube video of the song Guillotine performed by the American hip-hop band Death Grips.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau arrested Wachira on Nov 13.