A draft legislation aimed at penalizing people making online defamatory remarks against the monarchy has been proposed by a group of MPs from the opposition Democrat Party on November 18, media reports said.

"The Nation" also reported that the proposed law would also punish those who wrongly accuse or attempt to frame up others of such a wrongdoing.

This development came as the incidence of defamatory or contemptuous remarks against the monarchy has reportedly risen.
The law's proponents explained that at present there is no law that deals with offenders of lese majeste through modern electronic means, such as on Internet websites and in computer systems.

Under the bill, anyone uploading inaccurate content about the monarchy on the Internet or a computer system faces a jail term of between three to 20 years or a fine ranging from Bt200,000 to Bt800,000.

Those uploading defamatory or contemptuous content about the monarchy face, on the other hand, an imprisonment of five to 20 years or a fine of between Bt300,000 to Bt800,000.

The proposed law will also punish anyone falsely accusing others of such wrongdoings, with imprisonment of three to 20 years and a fine ranging from Bt200,000 to Bt800,000.

It also seeks to punish people hiring others to do the job for them, the Internet service provider or computer system administrator who fails to cooperate, as well as repeat offenders.

The main proponent of the new legislation, Democrat MP Piraphan Saliratviphak, earlier proposed amendments to the Penal Code and the Computer Act provisions regarding lese majeste.