Ordered to celebrate

Like all recent governments, the Puea Thai coalition is working hard on promoting the monarchy. It seems to feel its survival – or at least Puea Thai’s – depends on being seen as loyal.

PPT also gets the impression that the current government is also driven by a feeling that promoting the monarchy weakens the support for Move Forward.

Vajiralongkorn and dog in earlier days. Clipped from SCMP

So it is that The Bangkok Post reports that “Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin … [has] ordered all state agencies to propose activities to celebrate the sixth-cycle birthday of His Majesty King Rama X on July 28.”

After a recent cabinet meeting, Srettha explained that he had “instructed each agency to propose activities to the steering committee meeting tomorrow.”

Giving them a day to do this suggests that someone must have observed laggards on loyalty.

As always, souvenirs are produced and made available for sale. These are loyalist badges of monarchism.

And, as always, the taxpayer is squeezed to pay for the king’s happy day. This time, “cabinet agreed to spend 700 million baht on … the King’s birthday celebrations.” That’s around $20 million and readers can be sure that agencies will likely spend on top of that.

Further updated: Another Siam Bioscience 112 case

Thai PBS reports that well known singer and TV personality Suthipongse Thatphithakkul (also rendered as Suthipong Tadpitakkul), known as “Heart”, has been “indicted on a lèse majesté charge in the Bangkok South Criminal Court” on 7 May 2024.

The prosecutor alleges that Suthipongse shared “a statement on his Facebook account, about the monarchy’s involvement in the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, in a way deemed to defame the revered institution, in violation of Section 112 of the Criminal Code and the Computer Crime Act.”

He was granted bail on a 200,000 baht surety.

PPT has lost count of the number of cases related to the king’s Siam Bioscience and the Astrazenica COVID vaccine. Of course, at about the same time, Astrazenica withdrew the vaccine citing low demand and side effects.

Update 1: This case actually goes back to 2021. Back then, the 112 complaint was lodged by Seksakon “Rambo Isan” Atthawong, a red shirt turncoat rewarded by the military by being made assistant minister to the prime minister. Seksakon was previously known as Suporn.

Suporn was joined by Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha’s lawyer Apiwat Kanthong in lodging “another complaint” against Suthipong. They went to the Nang Loeng police station saying the singer had criticized the government’s vaccine procurement plan, alleging he may have also violated the lese majeste law and the Computer Crimes Act.

The earlier complaint was lodged with the Technology Crime Suppression Division. It seems that the complaint then also related to lese majeste and may be the same complaint.

In this “new” complaint, Suthipong was accused of having copied information on the government’s vaccine procurement plan to his Facebook page and “made additions.” He is accused of adding: “It is a vaccine of the boss” and “It is a Covid-19 vaccine monopoly.”

Lawyer Apiwat reckoned that anyone reading this would immediately know who he is talking about.” It’s not Gen Prayuth. It seems it is he whose name may not be said – the king.

The regime wants the police to seek more evidence and more information to substantiate the accusation against Suthipong. It took three years.

The oddity of a complaint and a possible charge for not saying the king’s name seems insane, even for royalist Thailand.

Update 2: Prachatai has answered our question above regarding how many Siam Bioscience lese majeste cases. It reports:

… Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party and current leader of the Progressive Movement, was charged with royal defamation [lese majeste] over an 18 January 2021 Facebook live broadcast, during which he said that the Thai government only bought vaccines from AstraZeneca and Sinovac because it wanted to support Siam BioScience Co. Ltd…. Thanathorn was indicted in April 2022. Meanwhile, a court order was issued banning the video.

Student activists Benja Apan and Parit Chiwarak were charged with royal defamation, violation of the Emergency Decree, the Communicable Diseases Act, and the Sound Amplifier Act for a 25 January 2021 protest at the Srijulsup building, where Siam BioScience’s registered office is located.

5 students in Lampang were also charged with royal defamation for displaying a banner saying “Budget for monarchy > Covid-19 vaccines.” A student at the Rajabhat University, Chiang Rai, was later charged with royal defamation for posting a picture of the banner onto the Facebook page “Free Youth – CEI.” Police believe that she was involved in hanging the banner near to King Vajiralongkorn’s portrait.

On 3 March 2021, activist Piyarat Chongthep, now a Move Forward Party MP, was charged with royal defamation for 7 protest signs against the government’s vaccine policy and for posting pictures of the signs.

A 30-year-old man from Nonthaburi was charged with royal defamation for sharing Facebook posts alleging that Siam BioScience was using taxpayer’s money to produce the vaccines. He was indicted in June 2023. In October 2023, he was found guilty and given a suspended sentence of 1 year and 6 months.

Updated: Mike cops 4 years on 112

Panupong in 2020. Clipped from The Nation

The Bangkok Post reports that on 8 May 2024, one of the leaders of the Ratsadon group Panupong Jadnok or Mike Rayong, 28, has been sentenced, on lese majeste and computer crimes charges, “to four years behind bars and reduced it to three years due to his cooperation during witness examination.”

Mike’s “crime” was found in a Facebook message from 2020. The “court said the message was viewed as offensive to the monarchy and … the King and in breach of the computer law.” He had denied the charges.

Mike wasn’t in “court for the judgement and a bench warrant was then issued for his arrest.” He had also failed to appear on 28 March, when the ruling was first scheduled to be read.

Update: Somewhat belatedly, Prachatai has a post that adds to the account of Mike’s conviction. It states that the case was about a “2020 Facebook post that questioned the King during the “People’s Letter” activity (ราษฎรสาส์น)…”. The message was a question to the king, naming him: “Do you think that when you stand on the ruins of democracy or the corpses of the people, you will be majestic?”

The post also states that the charges were filed by the mad monarchist Nangnoi Assawakittikorn,who is a member of the ridiculously named Thailand Help Center for Cyberbullying Victims. All that group does is bully those it identifies as the monarchy’s “enemies.” Those cyber vigilantes had, by 2021, initiated some 1,400 lese majeste cases. While we cannot confirm it, some social media posts suggest that Mike boycotted the court and its verdict.

The regime’s mirror

Self-crowned

It was recently coronation day for the country’s monarch, with events that were meant to promote royalism and the king. But it also featured its now quite odd royal family.

As the linked “report” had it, the king and queen, “marked the 2019 Royal Coronation Ceremony, accompanied by … Princess Sirivannavari…”.

Meanwhile, two of the king’s sisters, Sirindhorn and Chulabhorn “waited at Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall to welcome the King.”

This report was of one event, and other, lesser members of the extended but still small and always troubled royal family may have made appearances elsewhere, Even so, this report was revealing in its

An earlier photos of several members of the royal family. From: Love to Know

But there was a kind of weird backstory. Chulabhorn, usually seen in a wheelchair, was photographed erect, but the missing were also noticeable. Where was Ubolratana, the king’s eldest and quirkiest sister? More-or-less dead and never mentioned is Princess Bajrakitiyabha is a notable omission as the royal family’s undead. Why is she still being hooked up to a machine?

Then there’s Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi or Goy, the king’s official consort who disappeared a couple of years ago. Where was Prince Dipangkorn, the only male currently in line for the throne. His current competitor for the throne, calling himself a prince, but still officially not, is Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse. He’s stalking around the country looking like a celebrated royal.

This quite odd family has some resonances with a new mini-series, The Regime, about a year within the palace of a crumbling authoritarian regime. Sure, it is about something other than a bunch of grasping, gasping royals, but for anyone who follows Thailand’s political travails there are many moments where a viewer recognizes Thailand’s royal family.

Monarchy studies

Within a couple of days, PPT has seen two recent studies of the role of the monarchy in urban development.

The first is a journal article with Asian Studies Review by Puangchon Unchanam of Naresuan University, titled “No Royal Road: Urban Transportation, Capitalist Development, and Monarchy in Thailand.” The abstract states:

This article examines the role of the Thai monarchy in shaping urban transportation in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital and one of the world’s most congested cities. With an inquiry into the history of Bangkok under the reign of the previous king, Rama IX, the narratives of city staff who received the monarch’s guidance, and the king’s initiatives that relate to city planning, this article illustrates the problematic role of the monarchy in urban transportation. While the palace and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have saluted Rama IX’s initiatives for building more ring roads, overpasses, and bridges to solve traffic congestion, this article argues that these royal initiatives failed to address the roots of the problem. These include an excessive reliance on motor vehicles, insufficient public transportation, the dominant role of the automotive industry in the national economy, city planning that serves middle-class drivers at the expense of the mass of commuters, the close association between the crown and car companies, and the unconstitutional role of the monarchy in such matters. Swept under the rug during the historic reign of Rama IX, these problems have started to come to light in the current reign of Rama X.

From Quora

While the article is behind a paywall, PPT has always found authors generous with the free electronic copies they hold.

The second is a talk, at Hong Kong University, by Rawin Leelapatana of the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University, available on YouTube. The abstract for the talk titled “The Monarchy-led Urban Development: Lessons from Bangkok’s Planning Regime” states:

Although royal absolutism was abolished on 24 June 1932, much infrastructure, including many roads and public facilities in the capital, Bangkok, is said to be the products of royal initiatives of his majesty the king. Ostensibly, the construction of such infrastructure was delivered, especially from the 1970s onwards, by a constitutional rather than an executive monarch and even against the presence of democratisation and the Western-style urban planning regime. Such construction was put into operation by either the royal institution, a state organ, or individual royalist elites in honour of the king. As a result, these structures become visible symbols of public loyalty to the sacred throne as well as the king’s graciousness and altruism towards the people. I call this royal-initiated form of urban development ‘the monarchy-led urban development’ (MUD). I argue that to implement the MUD in democratizing Thailand, the monarchy must move away from operating blatantly outside the law and instead seek recourse to it. Written constitutions, planning law instruments, and non-planning law instruments are integral for turning the abstract constitutional ideology of royal nationalism into concrete reality, while also lending a veneer of legality to royal prerogative in urban planning.

PPT added the emphasis. As lecturers used to say, “compare and contrast.”

Yachts, helicopters and warships

After the anti-monarchy rebellion at the beginning of the decade, the efforts of the royalist regime led by Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, now continued by the Puea Thai-led conservative coalition, appear to have “normalized” ridiculous royalism. Of course, ridiculous royalism fleeces taxpayers.

Ridiculous royalism is not only expensive, but attributes ridiculous attributes to royals. This can be seen in a   recent report at The Nation.

In this report, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida are reported to have been ferried to the Regent Cha Am Hotel “to preside over a sailing competition across the Gulf of Thailand in celebration of the King’s upcoming 72nd birthday…”.

Clipped from The Nation

This reporting is also a part of a long campaign to link the current king and queen to the legacy of the previous king, Bhumibol. The report trawls up old claims about the dead king as a great sailor. Over the past few months, there have been a few stories extolling Queen Suthida’s sudden emergence as a “skilled” and “winning” yacht sailor.

In this report, she is said to have crewed on a “THA72 sailboat in the IRC zero class, and emerged victorious.” Of course it did.

THA 72 is reported to be “a Sailing Vessel and is sailing under the flag of United Kingdom. Her length overall (LOA) is 15 meters and her width is 4 meters.” It is reportedly a family pro-am team, based in Southeast Asia. For an idea of the limited fields and the interlinked, almost incestuous, nature of the rich persons sport, see this Bangkok Post story from 2023.

This year’s “race started at Cha Am beach in Phetchaburi province and finished at Toey Ngam Beach in Sattahip district of Chonburi province, a distance of 45 nautical miles.” There were just eight teams.

It is reported that the king boarded the “HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej ship to witness the race along the route off the coast of Phetchaburi to Chonburi province.” That’s a whole navy ship given over to the king for a morning out.

The “race” is “organised by the Royal Thai Navy and the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand…”.

In the afternoon, in Satthahip, the king and queen “visited the Royal Thai Marine Corps Monument in Sattahip district to take photographs with members of the Vayu team and sign their names in the visitor book.” A few hours later they “attended a ceremony at Royal Thai Marine Corps headquarters to present awards to winners of the race. Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Adung Phan-iam also presented a commemorative medal to the King.”

Among royalists, the idea that the king should “bestow… a trophy, modelled after the helm of King Bhumibol’s Vega boat, to Queen Suthida, who received it on behalf of the Vayu team” is not seen as in any way silly.

They were then loaded onto a helicopter to be ferried back to Bangkok.

Not a thought for cost. Limousines, luxury hotels, helicopters, yachts, banquets, thousands of personnel, and all paid for by the long suffering and long burdened taxpayer.

King’s company sanctioned

An AP report tells us that a “A Bangkok-based plastics firm has agreed to pay $20 million to settle with the U.S. over 467 ‘egregious’ violations of Iran sanctions, the U.S. Treasury announced on Friday.”

It states:

SCG Plastics Co. used U.S. banks to process $291 million in sales of Iranian high-density polyethylene resin from 2017 to 2018, according to the signed settlement agreement between the firm and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control….

The resin, used for product bottles and industrial items, was manufactured by an Iranian joint venture owned in part, by SCG Plastics’ parent company, SCG Chemicals and the National Petrochemical Company of Iran, which is a government entity….

SCG Plastics is no longer in operation, a signed agreement between OFAC and the firm releases SGC Plastics from any liability related to the sanctions violations.

SCG Chemicals is part of the Siam Cement Group, where the king has a controlling stake.

Vajiralongkorn @ Fox

It is difficult to know why, but Fox News has published another of the same-same stories about Vajiralongkorn: “All about King Maha Vajiralongkorn: The world’s richest monarch.”

A couple of points to make. The estimate of his personal wealth seems low and we’d suggest that a couple of the Middle Eastern thrones hold more than this.

That said, perhaps it is not comparing like with like as Vajiralongkorn made all the royal wealth his own.

It is also clear in the report just what a strange family holds the throne in Thailand.

Further updated: A prince again

Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse has suddenly begun calling himself “Prince Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse.” It has been widely covered on social media, with PPT first seeing it at Andrew MacGregor Marshall’s Facebook page.

There is no possible way he would claim this title back if he wasn’t sure the palace and his formerly estranged father approved. So far, we have seen no official announcement of his title being restored or his position in the royal family.

AMM pointed to the site of VVV GROUP, a new company in Thailand, not to be confused with the New Zealand real estate group of the same name.

Clipped from the Bangkok Post

At the website for the legal and business consulting firm, Vacharaesorn’s bio states:

CHAIRMAN & SENIOR PARTNER
Prince Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse
Prince Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, the second son of His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) of Thailand, assumes the prestigious role of Chairman and Senior Partner at VVV GROUP. He brings a wealth of experience and a commitment to excellence in overseeing and guiding the firm’s strategic direction, policies, and decision-making.

It goes on to recount biographical details that are not easy to verify, so we are unable to affirm their truthfulness.

It mentions he has a Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University, a middle-ranked law school that charges fees of about $50,000 a year. Vacharaesorn is also listed as having also gained a BA at Stetson in 2003, with the JD in 2006. His bio also says he has an LLM from George Washington. In 2009, Stetson Law listed he and his mother as donors of more than $10,000 each. The bio claims he was selected as a “super lawyer,” although the only online evidence was that he was one of dozens from Stetson named a “rising star” in 2015, not a “super lawyer” in 2014, as claimed in the bio . Essentially, these listings appear to be a commercial directory of lawyers.

Vacharaesorn also lists himself as a member of the:

Board of Directors of AG&P, a multi-billion dollar energy company, where he spearheaded the governmental and logistical aspects of projects, including the installation of new LNG terminals and power plants in Southeast Asia. As a Board of Advisors member for INDO Coffee, a California-based coffee company, Prince Vacharaesorn acts as a crucial ambassador for Thai product export, introducing high-quality Thai products to foreign markets.

We can find no online mention of INDO Coffee and AG&P’s website does not appear to list its directors online and does not seem to have a search function enabled.

The bio also claims:

He has been a dedicated advocate to ensure that the voices of those in need are heard. Additionally, he holds the position of Chairman for a charitable organization, providing college scholarships to deserving Thai students studying abroad.

We can find no particular evidence for the first claim and as the “charitable organization” is not listed, we are unable to confirm this claim.

All-in-all, the rehabilitation process goes well for this crown aspirant, even if the bio is somewhat slippery. Of course the minor issue of his US wife and kids and at least one legal case there remain.

Update 1: A reader points out a story we missed regarding Vacharaesorn’s debts to American Express. The Daily Beast reported that:”Legal documents filed in New York State in March reveal that Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse … agreed to pay down $94,767.88 in charges he defaulted on in 2023. The schedule of payments would have the balance completely paid down by March 29.”

In another post at Facebook, Andrew MacGregor Marshall queries Vacharaesorn’s legal employment, claiming he was “sacked” by Gerber, Ciano, Kelly, Brady, LLP as a partner. He then questions why he was appointed by Wichien Chubthaisong, president of the Lawyers Council of Thailand, to be his honorary adviser until 2025. It isn’t clear in the linked story if he’s been made an adviser to Wichien or to the LCT. AMM does not provide a link on the “sacking,” but while the firm is listed on Vacharaesorn’s Wikipedia page, Vacharaesorn does not appear currently listed at the firm. Also at the Wikipedia page, he is listed as “divorced.” However, the link supplied makes it clear that this is incorrect.

There are sufficient contradictions in the publicly available information to question Vacharaesorn’s truthfulness.

Update 2: Adding to this story of contradiction and more, a reader pointed out that “charitable organization” is the Thai Heritage Scholarship Fund of New York. AMM also mentions this in another Facebook post. PPT has yet to find this organization in online databases of foundations and charities and its website does not load for us. We are therefore unable to report any details about this so-called charitable organization except that it may have been founded somewhere around 2017. It was also about this time when Vacharaesorn and a couple of his brothers Wikipedia pages were created where they highlight their “royalness.”

Royal business I

The Bangkok Post recently had a seemingly innocuous headline: Ratchadamri condo ruling overturned. It reports on the Supreme Administrative Court overturning “a lower court’s revocation of a construction licence granted to a high-end residence project on Ratchadamri Road in Pathumwan district.” The court ruled that the Mahadlek Residence project met all of the necessary safety requirements and regulations on floor area and open space ratios, overturning the Central Administrative Court’s 2019 ruling that these were non-compliant.

It may seem odd that the lower court got these basic requirements wrong…. But then the story adds: “A 41-storey condominium project is planned for the 1.3-rai land plot owned by the Office of the Privy Purse.” In other words, the land belongs to the king.

A reader sent us some of the online information about this deal.

The story goes back quite some time. A Bangkok Post report from 2013 begins by noting that “residents of Mahadlek Luang in Bangkok’s Pathumwan district have had enough of construction and are gearing up for a struggle to get more green space for their community.” The report states that the plot where the “Mahadlek Residence Project will be built has many large trees and is highly prized in the locality.” It adds that the residents had “prepared a submission calling on the OPP to lease the land to them for development as a park.”

Those residents were said to “have for the past five years strongly opposed the construction of a 43-storey condominium on the site.” They planned to lease the land as a park with a royal moniker.

It is observed that the “OPP owns 67 rai in Soi Mahadlek Luang sois 1-3 on Ratchadamri Road in Pathumwan district. Most of the office’s land has been leased to land developers to build condominiums and hotels.”

At the time, the developer, Thai Factory Development PLC, used the royal name, stating that the Privy Purse had approved the design.

In 2016, the disgruntled residents later teamed up with Srisuwan Janya and his Anti-Global Warming group file a lawsuit with the Administrative Court against local officials and the Governor of Bangkok who had all approved the project. The lawsuit is reported to have been filed against the Privy Purse.

The Administrative Court ruled that “the applicant for construction permission is the Privy Purse Office, which is not a juristic person. Because it is only an agency under the Bureau of the Royal Household which has the status of being a government agency with the status of a department only therefore unable to apply for construction permission…”.

It also ruled on safety and space issues, stopping construction, because the building “is an exceptionally large building and has a length of less than 12 meters on either side of the land, and the road area is less than 10 meters wide in Soi Mahatlek Luang 2.”

This is the ruling that was miraculously overturned.