Closed door trial ordered by the Nonthaburi Provincial Court for order-good moral of the people, cited by public prosecutor, in a Section 112 case of taking and throwing the King Rama X’s picture frame into the canal.

21 February 2022, the Nonthaburi Provincial Court scheduled Siraphat Deeswat, a 35-year-old Nonthaburi resident who was prosecuted with Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, to a plead and review of the evidence. Siraphat was accused of taking the King Rama X’s portrait with the frame from the front of Prachacheun Village and throw the frame into the canal hereafter on 8 August 2021. Also, the Court scheduled Kanokwan Chimnok, a 24-year-old Nakhonratchasima resident who was accused of receiving stolen property for receiving and keeping the King Rama X’s portrait from Siraphat, to the mentioned trial proceeding. In addition, the plaintiff, the defendants, the lawyers, and the guarantor presented before the court.

Prior to the schedule, the public prosecutor indicted Siraphat on 2 November 2021, requesting the Court to order closed door trial for the purpose of public order and good moral of the people pursuant to Section 177 of the Thai Criminal Procedure Code because the prosecution of this case is under Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code which is about defames, insults, or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent.

Furthermore, on 10 November 2021, the public prosecutor motioned to the Court to combine Siraphat case into Kanokwan case, citing the purpose of convenient trial thanks to the same set of evidence.

The court, therefore, ordered to combine the two cases to provide convenient to all the involved party by setting Siraphat case as a main case. The court, additionally, ordered a closed-door trial accordingly to the request made by the public prosecutor. The trial only allows the involved party of the cases to enter the courtroom.

The court then read and elaborated the indictment of the casefile to the two defendants. The two defendants pleaded not guilty accordingly to the plead submitted to the Court.

The plaintiff also submitted 17 documents and declared to conduct examination on 6 witnesses. For the defendant, the lawyer submitted 4 documents and declared to conduct examination on 4 witnesses. Hereafter, the Court scheduled plaintiff witness examination on 9-10 November 2022 and defendant witness examination on 10 – 11 November 2022.

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