'Wolf Bride' activists plead guilty
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'Wolf Bride' activists plead guilty

Two young activists charged with lese majeste after appearing in the political play The Wolf Bride pleaded guilty to the charges yesterday.

Patiwat Saraiyaem, 23, and Pornthip Mankong, 26 admitted to the Criminal Court at a hearing yesterday that they had violated the Criminal Code's Section 112. 

The court later set Feb 23 as the date for their sentencing. 

The court also called for the Justice Ministry's Probation Department to conclude its psychological examination of the pair within 15 days.

Their parents and friends as well as representatives of the Office of the UN Human Rights Commission and the European Union also attended the hearing on Ratchadaphisek Road.

 "I'm a bit relieved as I think a psychological examination [by several doctors] should help a judge see her in her true light,"  said Pornthip's mother, who asked not to be named.

 ''I believe my daughter has done plenty of good deeds [in her life]," the 45-year-old mother told the Bangkok Post shortly after the hearing.

Prosecutors indicted the students in August for appearing in The Wolf Bride, performed on Oct 13 last year. 

The performance took place on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Oct 14, 1973, student uprising and just after the 37th anniversary of the Oct 6, 1976, massacre, both at Thammasat University.

Patiwat was arrested in Hat Yai on Aug 13, two days before Pornthip.

The court has rejected six bail applications by the pair since their arrests.

The play they took part in was about a fictional monarch.

It was staged by former members of the now-defunct Prakai Fai Karn Lakorn student group.

Pornthip was the former coordinator of the group.

Patiwat was a fifth-year student at Khon Kaen University's Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts.

He was also secretary-general of the Student Federation of the Northeast.

In the play he played the role of the king's Brahmin adviser.

Pornthip, a Ramkhamhaeng University graduate and drama enthusiast, has taken part in many arts and intellectual activities in recent years.

"It's the final chapter of a play, whatever it will be," Patiwat said yesterday about the February sentencing.

His father Aiyakarn, 49, said he believed his son's conscience was clear.

"Although I haven't played a major part in raising him for many years now, I know he is sincere about the activities that he engages in. The holy spirits out there know he's a good boy," Mr Aiyakarn said.

Patiwat's parents split up when he was young. His mother is remarried and living with her new husband in the United Kingdom.

"As long as no one bothers my mother [in Kalasin], I can wait until the [sentencing] day," said Pornthip from behind bars in the cells underneath the court.

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