Thailand: Second Lese Majeste Suspect Dies in Custody

The second of three Thai suspects charged recently with royal defamation died at a hospital after being found unconscious in a military prison, but officials said Monday that there was no need to change procedures for guarding prisoners.

Suriyan Sucharitpholwong, a fortune teller better known as Mor Yong, died Saturday night, hours after he was found unconscious in his cell at a temporary prison at the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok.

Authorities said Monday that he had died of blood poisoning, according to media reports.

Justice Minister Paiboon Kumchaya, a former general, played down the soothsayer’s death, saying there was no need to change protocol.

“Sometimes prisoners die in prison,” he told reporters Monday, according to Agence France-Presse.

Suriyan, his secretary Jirawong Wattanathewasilp and Police Maj. Prakrom Warunprapa were last seen in public on Oct. 21 as they were taken to military courthouse to be charged with lese majeste and other charges. In Thailand, people can go to jail for saying or writing anything negative about the king or other members of the royal family.

The Bangkok Post reported that the trio had allegedly extorted money from businessmen by citing the monarchy. Suriyan, who had served as an aide to Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, allegedly tried to exploit the prince’s name in those extortion efforts.

Authorities announced that Prakrom hanged himself while in custody on Oct. 24, and they declared his death a suicide.

Thailand has one of the toughest royal defamation laws, and prosecutions have shot up since a military coup in May 2014 followed a court order forcing then Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office, according to AFP. Because lese majeste is a national security offense, those charged are tried by a military court.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, who as a general led the Thai Army coup, has vowed to get rid of critics of the monarchy and has called for stronger prosecution of cases involving royal defamation, media reported.

On Monday, authorities confirmed that a colonel in the military was being investigated as part of the same probe. Reuters reported that a Bangkok military court issued an arrest warrant for Col. Khachachart Boondee, commander of the army’s first artillery regiment on lese majeste and other charges.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 87, is in frail health and is convalescing at a Bangkok hospital as uncertainty grows over a succession plan. The lese majeste law prevents open discussion of succession, according to Reuters.