Woman charged with sedition for showing red bowl

The bowl Pa Wan posed with in a photo which might land her in jail. The screened text reads: "Even though the situation is hot, I hope you keep cool when using this bowl." (Photo by Cheewin Sattha)

A Chiang Mai woman who posted a photo of herself showing a thumbs-up for a red plastic water bowl, a Songkran gift from Thaksin Shinawatra, was charged with breaching the sedition law, an offence carrying a jail term up to seven years, but was allowed bail.

Anon Nampa, a member of the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group who represents her, posted on Facebook he would use 100,000 baht from a fund to help bail the woman, who is known as Pa Wan.

After Pa Wan, of San Kamphaeng, posted the photo in social media, soldiers from Military Circle 33 brought her for questioning about the bowl.

Thai Rath Online reported she told them the bowl was a gift that also included a photo of Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra giving a wai with the text: "Happy Songkran New Year. I miss you all more than usual this Songkran. I'd like to help solve your problems. But for today, I send my love and best wishes".

The bowl was screened with white text: "Even though the situation is hot, I hope you keep cool when using this bowl."

Such a bowl, used in bathrooms at all Thai households, is sold for 10 baht each.

Pa Wan told the soldiers the bowl might have been distributed by a political party and that she accepted it because she thought it was given to promote economic use of water during the Songkran festival.

Soldiers later summoned her again and told her what she did breached internal security. She was subsequently sent to Mae Ping police station where she was charged with breaking Section 116 of the Criminal Code on internal security. Since the accusation involves security, she would be tried by the Chiang Mai military court in line with the junta's order.

The court approved the police request for the first round of detention of 12 days. She was later granted bail for a surety of 100,000 baht on condition she does not make any political movement.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said what Pa Wan did was illegal because she was showing support for a convict who fled a criminal charge.

"A security threat is failure to abide by law. This has nothing to do with the NCPO (National Council for Peace and Order). The law isn't being used to protect the NCPO.

"Isn't it wrong if we don't abide by law? Will officials be at fault? Didn't the previous government neglect many of such cases in the past?" he said.

Section 116 of the Criminal Code, better known as the sedition law, states that whoever makes apparent to the public by words, writing or any other means anything to bring about a change in the laws or the government by the use of coercion or violence, to raise confusion or disaffection amongst the people to the point of causing unrest in the kingdom, or to have people violate the law shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding seven years.

Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail in 2008 for having conflict of interests when he signed documents as a spouse when his wife in 2003 bid for a plot owned by a fund under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand in an auction.