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Bangkok: Thai police have arrested a woman for refusing to stand in a cinema for a pre-screening anthem in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the second such arrest this year under draconian lese majeste laws.
Several movie-goers filed a joint complaint of lese majeste ("insults to the monarchy") against Rachapin Chancharoen, who could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted, police said yesterday.
A song and video espousing the virtues of King Bhumibol, whom many Thais regard as semi-divine, is played before every movie and a message on the screen tells cinema-goers to stand.
Insanity suspected
In April, a 27-year-old political activist was formally accused of lese majeste for remaining seated during the anthem as part of a deliberate challenge to the law based on the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
However, police said Rachapin just appeared to be insane. "The woman showed clear signs of mental problems and she has been sent to a mental institution for examination," Police Colonel Arkom Chantanalap said.
"By law, we have to prepare a case against her although the final decision will partly depend on what the doctors say," he added. "She is not connected to any political group or cause."
Despite a shouting match with other movie-goers over her refusal to stand, police allowed her to watch the movie - "The Other Boleyn Girl" about England's King Henry VIII, famed for his excessive drinking and executing two of his six wives.
Thailand's lese majeste laws are among the toughest in the world, but are open to abuse since anybody can file a complaint.
They were a regular feature of the charged political atmosphere that preceded the 2006 coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. A pro-Thaksin minister was forced to resign last month over accusations of insulting the king.
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