Sign 112

Prachatai reports that two noodle vendors have been indicted on an Article 112 charge “for putting up protest signs in front of their shops in 2023 calling for the repeal of the royal defamation [lese majeste] law and the release of political prisoners.”

Juang (full name withheld), 54, and Tiam (full name withheld), 57, were charged after the usual royal snitching took place. As has happened many times before, it was the odious Songchai Niamhom who complained to the police. He is a self-proclaimed leader of an ultra-royalist group. Songchai “claimed that he saw a post on Facebook on 18 January 2023 of two signs in front of a noodle shop with defamatory messages.”

The Facebook page Songchai complained about did not belong to Juang or Tiam.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights report that the public prosecutor indicted Juang and Tiam on 20 November 2025, deciding “that they put up a sign saying ‘You are a burden wherever you go’ in front of a display cabinet in their shop.”

This probably refers to the complaints that emerged during monarchy reform protests over the traffic chaos caused to thousands upon thousands of people whenever royal motorcades hit the streets and police close off traffic for considerable periods.

There is a long history of such complaints, and several times there have been palace declarations that they will do this better. In recent times, however, it is worse than ever, suggesting that the defeat of the monarchy reform movement has allowed the palace to make life difficult again for the long-suffering public. Indeed, several young protesters have had 112 convictions for protesting narcissistic royal traffic patterns.

For Juang and Tiam, the prosecutor made the extraordinary decision that the sign in the noodle shop was visible to passers-by, and while it did not mention a royal covered by the 112 law, it was determined that these words could “cause a misunderstanding that the King and Queen inappropriately used their powers to gain undue benefits, use taxpayer’s money in a way that does not benefit the public, and that their travel costs problems for citizens.”

Of course, none of that is a misunderstanding; rather, it is the truth, and the prosecutor’s decision is actually an admission that people know the truth.

The social media post – nowhere do we learn who posted it – “also received likes and shares, and the prosecutor claimed that they intend to defame the King and Queen.”

Juang and Tiam were later released on bail on a security of 200,000 baht each.

The report states that this is the second 112 charge against Juang as she “was previously found guilty of royal defamation for a speech given at a protest on 20 July 2022 and given a suspended prison sentence of 2 years.”