Social sanction urged for Thai royal critics

Thais should "socially sanction" those who defame the monarchy following King Bhumibol Adulyadej's death, the junta's justice minister said yesterday, as fresh videos emerged of mob justice against people accused of insulting the institution.

The death on Thursday of the world's longest reigning monarch has left the nation bereft of its key pillar of unity and seen mass outpourings of grief from black-clad Thais.

But it has also unleashed small but vocal ultra-monarchist forces, including mobs and online crusaders scouring the web and bent on punishing anyone perceived to have insulted the monarchy.

"There is no better way to punish these people than to socially sanction them," Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya told reporters yesterday, as he vowed to "pursue those people who violate the law".

His message comes amid a growing number of cases of vigilantism by royalist Thais against people accused of insulting the monarchy.

At 10:30am a video was broadcast live on Facebook showing a mob kicking and beating a man and forcing him to prostrate himself in apology for allegedly insulting the monarchy.

During the beating, which appeared to take place in Chonburi east of Bangkok, the man cried out: "I didn't mean to do it, I love the king! It's my fault."

Another video uploaded to social media late Monday showed an elderly woman on a Bangkok bus being berated and slapped in the face by commuters in the presence of police over alleged comments.

Thailand's monarchy is protected by a draconian lese majeste law that outlaws criticism with punishments of up to 15 years in jail for each insult uttered.

Prosecutions have surged under the military which seized power two years ago, and record-breaking sentences have been handed down in some cases.

The arch-royalist junta has done little to tamp down hardline public sentiment by presenting the monarchy as under attack, said David Streckfuss, a Thailand-based expert on the monarchy.

"They've created a sort of bunker mentality," he said, adding that there was no evidence of a genuine republican movement in Thailand to justify such an approach.