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R 021122Z NOV 09
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002791 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, EEB 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR BWEISEL, BKLEIN 
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SINGAPORE FOR FINATT BLEIWEIS 
COMMERCE FOR EAP/MAC/OKSA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2019 
TAGS: EFIN PGOV PHUM PREL DRL TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND:  TWO NETIZENS ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO 
KING'S HEALTH RUMORS, STOCK MARKET PLUNGE 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 2656 (MARKET MOVES ON RUMORS) 
     ¶B. BANGKOK 2606 (KING'S HEALTH UPDATE) 
     ¶C. BANGKOK 325 (LM AND CCA ENFORCEMENT UPTICK) 
 
BANGKOK 00002791  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor George P. Kent for reasons 1.4 (b) a 
nd (d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Royal Thai Police (RTP) arrested two 
Thai citizens November 1 for allegedly contributing to the 
panic that triggered the Thai stock market to plunge in 
mid-October (Ref A).  RTP personnel detained Teeranun 
Wipuchanin and Katha Pajariyapong on suspicion of violating 
Thailand's 2007 Computer Crime Act (CCA), searched their 
houses, and confiscated their computers, cameras, and other 
electronic devices.  The two suspects stand accused of 
circulating false information on the internet about the 
King's health, and in doing so, endangering national 
security.  The arrests are not connected with an ongoing 
Department of Special Investigations (DSI) effort to identify 
four-five individuals allegedly behind stock market 
manipulations. 
 
¶2. (C) COMMENT: These arrests, and others rumored to be in 
the works, are more likely intended to send a message to 
blogging netizens speculating about the King's health and 
what comes after his death, rather than to assign 
"responsibility" for the rumors which led to the mid-October 
drop in the stock market.  The arrests underscore the level 
of sensitivity to the issue of the King's declining health in 
Thailand, as well as the RTG's ongoing effort to muzzle any 
commentary deemed harmful to the Monarchy.  Despite the fact 
that Teeranun's posting on Prachatai.com was primarily a Thai 
translation of a Bloomberg news story, the RTP apprehended 
her in front of cameras at Suvarnabhumi Airport.  Not 
surprisingly, the RTG's action, rather than containing the 
story and damping down the rumors about the King's health, 
gave the story new legs via secondary reporting about these 
arrests by Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, as well as 
more blog postings.  Moving forward, with the King's health 
likely to continue to deteriorate, the RTG will need to 
consider whether its reflexive impulse to overreact causes 
more problems than it solves.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
 
THIS IS HOW RUMORS GET STARTED 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) On October 14 and 15, the Stock Exchange of Thailand 
fell 7.2 percent -- amounting to billions of dollars in 
losses -- in response to rumors about King Bhumibol's 
declining health after an extended period of hospitalization. 
 Stories began to circulate that Thai investors initiated the 
uptick in gossip about the King's health as a profit-seeking 
scheme (Ref A).  In addition to the DSI investigation, the 
Thai Securities and Exchange Commission has indicated that it 
is investigating two foreign brokers, Credit Suisse and UBS, 
and one domestic account in connection with the market events 
of October 14 and 15. 
 
¶4. (C) DSI had already announced that it was investigating 
four-five individuals for allegedly manipulating the stock 
market with rumors, but the November 1 arrests, carried out 
by the Royal Thai Police were unconnected to DSI's ongoing 
effort, Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch noted to us 
November 2.  As such, he suggested the intent of the pair of 
arrests, and more rumored to be in the works, was on shutting 
down the web speculation about the King's declining health. 
 
¶5. (C) Former UBS Securities executive Teeranun claimed to 
the press after her arrest that her internet postings during 
this time were merely translations of Bloomberg articles that 
she translated after the market had already begun to fall. 
Like Katha, an employee of KT SEAMICO Securities, Teeranun is 
a regular contributor to the controversial websites Same Sky 
and Prachatai.com, which attract their fair share of 
 
BANGKOK 00002791  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
anti-monarchy postings, and whose webmasters have already 
been charged with lese majeste on prior occasions for 
allowing such postings.  Prachatai.com editor Chiranuch 
Premchaiporn and Same Sky webmaster Thanapon Iewsakun 
separately told us November 2 that they have not yet been 
approached or questioned by the police regarding these cases, 
despite the fact that these individuals are regular posters 
on their sites. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Rather than utilize Section 112 of the Criminal 
code, the lese majeste provision that prohibits criticism of 
the King, the Crime Suppression Division of the RTP charged 
the pair under the relatively recent CCA. (Ref C)  Article 14 
of the CCA addresses the internet posting of false 
information that undermines national security or harms the 
public.  If convicted, the pair could receive a sentence of 
up to five years of jail time, and a 100,000 baht fine 
(approximately $3000).  They were released on bail November 2 
and instructed not to leave the country for the pendency of 
the investigation. 
 
ARRESTING BLOGGERS JUST BEGETS MORE BLOGS 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) In addition to the international media, the Thai 
blogosphere has seized upon the arrest story, showing the 
multiplier effect of this kind of RTG crackdown.  Leading 
English language blogger Bangkok Pundit posits the question 
of whether RTG should now be using the CCA to charge the 
Bloomberg journalist in Hong Kong as well as the other news 
organizations that recycled the Bloomberg reports. 
Prachatai.com has a piece lampooning the Department of 
Special Investigations (DSI) inquiry into the possible stock 
trading irregularities, suggesting that DSI has no 
understanding of how the markets work.  The interest has also 
extended overseas, with Nicholas Farrelly from Australian 
National University (ANU) posting on the New Mandala blog 
that he is going to incorporate discussion of the arrests 
into his November 2 presentation at ANU's National Thai 
Studies Center Thailand Update Conference 2009. 
JOHN