In a development described by media observers as having a chilling effect on the online community in Thailand, the Criminal Court sentenced a 34-year-old engineer, Suwicha Takor, to 10 years' imprisonment for violating the Constitution, the Criminal Code and the Computer Related Crime Law.

According to independent news website prachathai.com, the court ruled on 3 April
that Suwicha was guilty of offences under Articles 8 and 9 of the 2007 Constitution, Articles 33, 83, 91 and 112 of the Criminal Code, and Articles 14 (2) and 16 (1) of the 2007 Computer Related Crime law.

He was initially sentenced to 20 years in prison on two counts of 10 years each. However, because he had pleaded guilty, the jail term was reduced to 10 years.

SEAPA chairman and "The Nation" columnist Kavi Chongkittavorn noted in his column on 6 April that the court's decision to sentence Suwicha to 10 years in prison "was disproportionately harsh".

Suwicha's conviction, Kavi added, "would imbed a culture of fear deeper into Thai society."

Suwicha had been working as a control engineer for a transnational oil rig company when he was arrested by the police on 14 January 2009, in his hometown of Nakhon Phanom in the northeast.

Prachathai.com said that he was accused of sending online pictures offensive to the king and the heir apparent. He was flown to Bangkok, where he was detained. The court twice denied his lawyers' requests for bail.

Suwicha's company fired him on 15 January for "damaging its reputation", without any compensation.

Suwicha, father of three and sole breadwinner of his family, pleaded guilty on 30 March.