I have previously blogged about the lese majeste case against Jonathan Head here and here and against Jakrapob here, here, and here (look at the lese majese label for more). As previously mentioned all the cases have been filed by Lt. Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee and mentioned in this post, he has been assisted by a Mr Akbar Khan. The Bangkok Post has more:
Describing himself as "a typical Thai with reverence for the monarchy", Watanasak Mungkijkarndee, a police investigator from Bang Mod station, says he can't stand people talking about the country's highest institution in an inappropriate way.
On March 24 he lodged a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division against then PM's Office Minister Jakrapob Penkair, accusing him of being disrespectful to the monarchy.
He cited remarks which Mr Jakrapob made in a speech in English to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) last August about the patronage system and democracy in Thailand.
The FCCT invited Mr Jakrapob to speak in his capacity as a core leader of the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the pro-Thaksin group which held rallies against the 2006 coup.
Mr Jakrapob showed up at the FCCT shortly after he was released from Klong Prem special prison, where he and other UDD leaders were detained for their involvement in a clash between UDD demonstrators and police in front of the residence of Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda last July.
"I studied Mr Jakrapob's speech carefully and found he really spoke ill of the monarchy, from the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya period to the Chakri dynasty," said Pol Lt-Col Watanasak, 52.
"After thinking about the matter I decided to file a complaint with police."
Pol Lt-Col Watanasak's lese majeste complaint was later picked up by the opposition Democrat party, whose leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said the speech reflected a "dangerous attitude", and called on Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to dismiss Mr Jakrapob from his job.
Some members of the public have asked whether Pol Lt-Col Watanasak's complaint was politically motivated and if he has any connection with the opposition.
But Pol Lt-Col Watanasak denies pursuing a hidden agenda, saying that his action was purely aimed at "protecting the monarchy".
He did not even think that it would lead to Mr Jakrapob's resignation on May 30, shortly after the police wrapped up the investigation and decided to file a lese majeste charge against him.
"I don't know him [Mr Jakrapob] personally and have never thought about the impact of my decision. I just thought that he really did the wrong thing and that's it," he said.
Pol Lt-Col Watanasak, a Nakhon Sawan native, said his parents had taught him since he was young that Thais must show reverence for His Majesty the King.
He conceded, however, that he was not alone in this fight to protect the monarchy and bid to bring an offender to justice. A British friend, Akbar Khan, alerted him to Mr Jakrapob's speech.
Mr Khan, a former English teacher for police at the Special Branch Police and the Crime Suppression Division, listened to Mr Jakrapob at the FCCT that night.
The 42-year-old British citizen later translated the speech into Thai and submitted the paper to many police, but none were prepared to file a complaint against Mr Jakrapob.
Mr Khan, who accompanied Pol Lt-Col Watanasak to an interview with the Bangkok Post, said he could not sit back and watch Mr Jakrapob show disrespect to the monarchy and looking down on the Thai attitude towards the monarchy.
"I have been living in Thailand for 20 years. I have never heard any Thai speak like Mr Jakrapob before. Worse, he spoke in front of foreign reporters who are ready to write it and spread it out to the world," he said.
Mr Khan said Mr Jakrapob's speech was not only offensive to the monarchy, "but also insulting to Thais, their culture, society".
"Mr Jakrapob is a Thai national. He should not have made such a remark, which I find really disgusting," said Mr Khan, who works as a freelance translator and reporter.
Mr Khan said it was hard to convince any police he knew to take legal action against Mr Jakrapob. This was probably because they were afraid of political influence.
But Pol Lt-Col Watanasak eventually agreed to do it.
"I'm not afraid [of any dark influence]," said Pol Lt-Col Watanasak, who graduated with a law degree from Ramkhamhaeng University.
His younger brother and some colleagues worried about his safety after he lodged the lese majeste complaint against Mr Jakrapob.
"I'm still safe and sound. No one has made any threats against me so far," said Pol Lt-Col Watanasak, who is single.
He was not worried about any impact on his career of the furore surrounding the complaint, because he would not stay in the police force for much longer anyway. He plans to apply for early retirement to run a small business.
A police colleague said he was not surprised by Pol Lt-Col Watanasak's decision to lay a complaint, as he likes to do things most people don't do.
"He is an outspoken person who has weird thoughts about everything," he said.
BP: Interesting.
I hope I have the opportunity to discuss politics with Mr Khan on British land one day.
There really wasn't anything that controversial about what Jakrapob said.
He wasn't exactly articulate about it, but he got the gist of it right.
You can read what he said in any Thai history book, in either Thai or English, readily available in a bookstore, library or online.
The Sukhotai pa khun system, the Ayutthia sakdina system, the Chakri revolution and the syncretic monarchy/military system are not controversial or offensive topics with academics.
And none of the Thai professors who taught me this stuff have ever been thrown in jail for discussing them.
Watanasak comes across as a finger puppet to the foreigner. He says he is just an ordinary Thai, and didn't think about the consequences of his actions - possibly because someone else put him up to them.
Khan peddled his 'translation' among his police friends, and the only one who would lay a complaint about it was Watanasak, because (according to his colleague) he does things which others would not, and has 'wierd thoughts' .
The Post also tells us helpfully that Watanasak no plans to stay in the police force (he wants to retire early to start a business), and that he is single. Khan accompanied him to the interview.
It sounds to me like they are good friends. I suspect Jakrapob is also single. Watanasak says he has never met the guy, but they appear to have certain things in common.
The police hired Khan to teach them English. A Google search on Khan, especially in relation to
Tesco and Twix chocolate bars, is revealing. The man sounds mad. His English is little better.
In him, the police get what they deserve.
I wonder what the Int Minister and Immigration think about this British tourist creating national trouble?
He's got balls! That's for sure. But I don't know his fate. I think he is a loose cannon and works for no one. A man looking for a mission. And hoping for fame by standing against evil (what ever that is?). But being enemies with the Thai Govt is not the best visa policy for a farang.