Monday, May 15, 2017

VIDEO: LOOKING LIKE A TATTOOED PIMP, THAI KING MAHA VAJIRALONGKORN STROLLS THE MALL HALF-NAKED

Thailand threatens to prosecute Facebook for running a video of the country's heavily tattooed king walking through a shopping mall in a tiny yellow crop-top

  • Footage of King Maha Vajiralongkorn strolling around with a woman in Munich was widely shared on the social network
  • Under the country's lese-majeste laws, people can be jailed for 15 years for insulting monarchy
  • Facebook could face legal action if people in Thailand are able to access it tomorrow 
  • The Thai Internet Service Provider Association emailed Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg last week

Embarrassing footage of Thailand's king wearing a crop top while sporting 'fake' tattoos have prompted authorities to threaten action against Facebook.
The video of King Maha Vajiralongkorn strolling around a shopping centre with a woman was widely shared on the social network. 
But Thai authorities have threatened to press charges if it is still available at 10am tomorrow.
The footage was purportedly filmed in Munich, Germany, in July last year.  

Brittany Simpson charged with fatally shooting her father

Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:02
Previous
Play
Skip
Unmute
Current Time0:02
/
Duration Time0:44
Fullscreen
Need Text
Under strict lese-majeste laws in Thailand, people can be jailed for up to 15 years for sharing material which is insulting to the monarchy
Under strict lese-majeste laws in Thailand, people can be jailed for up to 15 years for sharing material which is insulting to the monarchy
The video shows the 64-year-old monarch walking through a shopping centre with a woman
The video shows the 64-year-old monarch walking through a shopping centre with a woman
It shows the monarch, who came to power last year following the death of his father, with a number of tattoos on his arms, stomach, and back.
However, the tattoos may actually be transfers as they are not the same as those seen in photographs taken at Munich airport earlier in 2016, one observer noticed. 
The sleeve tattoo is shorter than in the airport photos and he has a tattooed belly in this video, which he did not have at the airport. 
Under strict lese-majeste laws in Thailand, people can be jailed for up to 15 years for sharing material which is insulting to the monarchy.
The video has been geo-blocked by the social network, but Thai authorities say 131 pages containing the 'illicit' video are still available. 
The king was wearing a crop top showing off his tattoos in the video footage, which has been banned in Thailand
The footage has been widely shared on Facebook in Thailand
The king was wearing a crop top showing off his tattoos in the video footage, which has been banned in Thailand
The monarch was seen walking around the shopping centre while wearing a crop top in video which has angered Thai authorities
The monarch was seen walking around the shopping centre while wearing a crop top in video which has angered Thai authorities
The king has heavy tattoos on his arms, back and stomach in the footage, which shows him wearing a yellow crop top. However, the tattoos may actually be transfers as they are not the same as those seen in photographs taken at Munich airport earlier in 2016
The king has heavy tattoos on his arms, back and stomach in the footage, which shows him wearing a yellow crop top. However, the tattoos may actually be transfers as they are not the same as those seen in photographs taken at Munich airport earlier in 2016
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission said:  'If even a single illicit page remains, we will immediately discuss what legal steps to take against Facebook Thailand.'
Last week the Thai Internet Service Provider Association emailed Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg calling for the posts to be blocked, the Bangkok Post reports.
The Worldwide Movement for Human Rights has said 105 people have been arrested under the strict laws since May 2014. 
President Dimitris Christopoulos said: 'In less than three years, the military junta has generated a surge in the number of political prisoners detained under lèse-majesté by abusing a draconian law that is inconsistent with Thailand's international obligations.' 
The monarch is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last year at the age of 88. 
After spending much of his life outside the public eye, Maha Vajiralongkorn was catapulted into the limelight as future king of a politically fractured nation.

Who is the playboy prince that became king? Thai monarch has spent most of his life overseas and been married three times 

King Maha was born on July 24, 1952 in Bangkok's Royal Dusit Palace, the 64-year-old is the only son and male heir of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.
As an adolescent he studied at two public schools in Britain, including King's Mead School, Seaford, Sussex, and then at Millfield School, Somerset. After, he embarked on a military career, training in Australia. 
In 1976, he graduated as a newly commissioned lieutenant with a liberal arts bachelors degree from the University of New South Wales. 
Pictured: Queen Sirikit of Thailand with Prince Maha (left) and Princess Rajakanya in 1953
Pictured: Queen Sirikit of Thailand with Prince Maha (left) and Princess Rajakanya in 1953
King Maha as a toddler
King Maha studied in the UK during his youth
King Maha was born on July 24, 1952 in Bangkok's Royal Dusit Palace. As an adolescent he studied at two public schools in Britain
After graduating he started a career in the military training with US, British and Australian armed forces. He also qualified as a a fixed wing helicopter pilot in the late 1970s in the Royal Thai Army.
His military career was interrupted in 1978 so he could be ordained for a season as a Buddhist monk, as is customary for all Thai Buddhist men.
He married his first wife in 1977, a cousin, Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara, with whom he has a daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha in 1978. They divorced in 1993.
He wed his first cousin Soamsawali Kitiyakara (left) in January 1977 but nine months after she gave birth to his daughter the prince had a son with actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth
He wed his first cousin Soamsawali Kitiyakara (left) in January 1977 but nine months after she gave birth to his daughter the prince had a son with actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth
The King, a licensed pilot, in the cockpit of a fighter jet with one of his five children
The King, a licensed pilot, in the cockpit of a fighter jet with one of his five children
Nine months after his daughter was born, the prince had a son with actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, with whom he went on to have a total of five children and a tumultuous relationship.
Three years later his relationship broke down with Ms Polpraserth as she fled to the UK in 1996, after a spectacular bust up.
In 2001 he wed his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee, describing her as a 'modest and patient' woman who 'never says bad things towards anyone' and like his previous relationships there were to be a number of controversies in their time together. 
In 2007, footage published online showed the couple throwing a party for his pet poodle - who held the rank of Air Chief Marshall - at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Princess Srirasmi, a former waitress, who sang happy birthday to the dog topless, also got on her knees and ate from a dog bowl in the same video.
Footage from 2007 shows Prince Maha throwing a birthday party for his pet poodle Fufu - who held the rank of Air Chief Marshall - at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Pictured: His third wife dressed in nothing more than a G-string to celebrate Fufu's birthday 
Footage from 2007 shows Prince Maha throwing a birthday party for his pet poodle Fufu - who held the rank of Air Chief Marshall - at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Pictured: His third wife dressed in nothing more than a G-string to celebrate Fufu's birthday 
In 2001 he wed his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee (pictured with their son Dipangkom Rasmijoti), describing her as a 'modest and patient' woman who 'never says bad things towards anyone'
In 2001 he wed his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee (pictured with their son Dipangkom Rasmijoti), describing her as a 'modest and patient' woman who 'never says bad things towards anyone'
In late 2014, Srirasmi suffered a very public fall from grace when several members of her family were arrested as part of a police corruption probe and charged with lese majeste (treason).
Vajiralongkorn later divorced her and she lost her royal titles . The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.
Despite holding a number of military titles, including Knight of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems, the prince admitted to an interviewer he was unable to tie his own shoe laces aged 12 because courtiers had always done it for him.
 The appointment of Prince Maha - who has asked for a delay of four days before he assumes the throne - has raised eyebrows both at home and abroad. Pictured: Undated pictured of the new king at Disneyland
 The appointment of Prince Maha - who has asked for a delay of four days before he assumes the throne - has raised eyebrows both at home and abroad. Pictured: Undated pictured of the new king at Disneyland
The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, living overseas in Germany, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.
In August 2015 he led key figures of the current junta and thousands of others in a mass bike ride through Bangkok, a rare high-profile appearance.
He was drafted in as King in October 2016, 50 days after the death of his father, the highly revered Bhumibol Adulyadej. He had to fly back from Germany after learning of his father's deteriorating health in the days before.
Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne with tthe statement: 'The government will inform the National Legislative Assembly that His Majesty the King appointed his heir on Dec. 28, 1972.'
However, in a shock move he requested to delay his coronation and ascension to the throne for a year to mourn the passing of his father. 
Pictured: Father and son in full Guards' uniform in Bangkok
'He [King Bhumibol] thought his son would be a poor king but he was a conservative man and thought a man should succeed him. There was no alternative,' biographer Andrew MacGregor Marshall told MailOnline. Pictured: Father and son in full Guards' uniform in Bangkok
The 64-year-old inherits one of the world's richest monarchies, yet the untested heir has enormous shoes to fill following the October 13 death of his father, who charmed a nation that came to see him as a compassionate and unflashy monarch.
Bhumibol's popularity and moral authority helped him wield vast influence during his seven-decade reign, despite the few legal powers granted to the constitutional monarch.
But he has left behind a deeply polarised country, trapped in a cycle of political protests, coups by an arch-royalist military and entrenched inequality.
Vajiralongkorn does not enjoy his father's level of popularity and has spent much of his life overseas, particularly in Germany. 
Rumours over his private life have also trailed him, gilded by three-high profile divorces and a recent police corruption scandal linked to the family of his previous wife.
After his father's passing, he shocked many by requesting to delay his ascension to the throne.
That announcement was delivered on his behalf by junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who said the prince wanted more time to grieve with the nation.
In the past, heirs have typically been proclaimed king shortly after the throne is vacated.

FIVE CHARGED AFTER SHARING POSTS BY EXILED ACADEMIC 

Five men were last week charged with violating Thailand's royal defamation law for sharing Facebook posts written by an exiled dissident academic, a human rights lawyer said.
The case is the largest known lese majeste prosecution so far under Thailand's new King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who ascended the throne after the October death of his father.
The five, who have not been named, were remanded in custody Wednesday for sharing Facebook posts written by a Paris-based Thai historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul about the disappearance of a democracy plaque in Bangkok last month.
'They shared Somsak's posts about the 1932 plaque,' Anon Numpa, from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, told AFP without elaborating on what the posts said.
The small bronze monument, which lay in Bangkok's heavily-policed Royal Plaza, marked the 1932 revolution that ended absolute monarchy in Thailand.
Strict laws in Thailand impose heavy sentences on those judged to have insulted the monarchy. King Maha Vajiralongkorn is pictured with his father, King Bhumbol Adulyadej, who died last year, and  Queen Sirikit
Strict laws in Thailand impose heavy sentences on those judged to have insulted the monarchy. King Maha Vajiralongkorn is pictured with his father, King Bhumbol Adulyadej, who died last year, and Queen Sirikit
It was mysteriously replaced by a new plaque bearing a royalist message in April, sparking fury among Thailand's hard-pressed democracy campaigners who fear the monument was removed with official backing.
Authorities have moved to stifle discourse on the missing plaque and have detained several activists who have tried to call for an investigation.
Thai authorities last month warned that contacting, following or sharing social media posts by junta critic Somsak could be grounds for legal action.
The five faced charges alongside prominent human rights lawyer Prawet Prapanukul, who was hit with a record ten counts of royal defamation for a series of social media posts apparently containing republican sentiment.
Prawet now faces a maximum 150-year sentence under a law that assigns up to 15 years in prison per offence.
A police officer from the technology crime suppression division confirmed the men were remanded over lese majeste charges but declined to comment further.
Royal insult cases are typically shrouded in secrecy as even repeating defamatory content can be grounds for prosecution.
In a recent Facebook post, 57-year-old Prawet encouraged Thais to push the boundaries of the lese majeste law, which has choked expression across the kingdom's media, academia and arts.
Use of the law has shot up under the royalist junta that seized power in 2014. 


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4507110/Thailand-threatens-sue-video-king-crop-top.html#ixzz4hBwRAmUx
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook