A 24 year-old man in Thailand has been arrested for defamation and alleged cyber crime under the country’s Computer Crime Act for editing a wikipedia page of a top Thai virologist. As reported by Thailand news portal Thai PBS World, the accused was charged with defamation after confessing to the police of altering the wikipedia entry of Professor Dr. Yong Poororawan, the head of Chulalongkorn University’s Center of Excellence in Clinical virology and advisor to the Thailand government.
Professor Dr Yong Poovorawan.
The man, Soradit Eiamsittipol was arrested at his home in Bangkok’s Bang Khun Tien district last Monday (12 July 2021) for his wikipedia vandal. The Thai police has also searched Soradit’s home and confiscated his mobile phone during the arrest.
The edited wikipedia entry.
Soradit, an engineering graduate is alleged to have added “Sinovac salesman for the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration” on Dr Yong’s wikipedia page. For context, Prayut Chan-o-cha is the current Thailand Prime Minister and Dr Yong has been known to fiercely defend the Prime Minister’s continued usage of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in the country; even after several expert findings that have found the vaccine ineffective against the contagious Delta variant.
Furthermore, Dr Yong has also on 13 July approved the mixing of Sinovac and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the country. As reported by Reuters, the mixing of both vaccines is still untested and could lead to potential harmful side effects.
The accused, Soradit Eiamsittipol.
Following the edit on his Wikipedia page, Dr Yong sent an assistant to file a police report for defamation which led to Soradit’s arrest. For defamation, Soradit could face imprisonment up to 2 years and a fine of up to RM26,000. If he were to be charged for cyber crime, he would face imprisonment of up to 5 years.
Also read: Thai Minister Threatens To Sue Facebook For Fake News & Anti-Monarchy Propaganda
