AN ARTIST from Khon Kaen who spray-painted an anarchist symbol and the number 112 on a wall of the Temple of Emerald Buddha then crossed it out in March last year was today (July 4) sentenced to eight months in jail without parole, Amarin TV said this afternoon.
Mr. Sutthawee Soikham, or Bang Aern, 24, was arrested on March 28, 2023 just as he had finished spray-painting on the temple wall.
He was found guilty of violating Section 14, paragraph 32 of the Act on Ancient Monuments, Antiques, Objects of Art and National Museums B.E. 2504 (1961) and Sections 4, 12, 36 of the Act on Maintenance of Cleanliness and Orderliness of the Country, B.E. 2535 (1992).
The heaviest punishment comes from violating Section 14, paragraph 32 of the Act on Ancient Monuments, Antiques, Objects of Art and National Museums which forbids damaging, destroying, depreciating or rendering useless ancient sites nor scratching, writing, spraying or make appear any text, picture or image on the walls adjacent to public streets.
The court sentenced Sutthawee to one year imprisonment but this was reduced by one-third due to useful testimony to eight months imprisonment without parole with the two cans of spray paint confiscated.
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Top and Front Page: Police arresting the artist and collecting evidence at the spot where he had spray-painted a wall of the Temple of Emerald Buddha. Photo: Amarin TV
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