Good News from today: He's back in Switzerland already. Jailed Swiss man receives pardon from His Majesty - Reuters Chiang Mai _ His Majesty the King has pardoned a Swiss man jailed for 10 years for defacing posters containing the King's image, prison chief Chuchart Chailert said yesterday. "His Majesty has granted him a pardon and we released him on Tuesday," said the head of the prison in Chiang Mai where 57-year-old Oliver Rudolf Jufer was sent after being sentenced last month. "He now feels guilty about what he has done and is grateful for the royal pardon," Mr Chuchart said.Immigration police said Jufer was due to leave for Switzerland on Wednesday. His pardon was not a surprise. The King has said forcefully in public he is not above criticism and he usually pardons people jailed for lese majeste. Jufer, a longtime resident of Thailand, was arrested in Chiang Mai for spraying black paint on several portraits of the King and the Queen. He was initially sentenced to 20 years in jail, but the judge reduced the term because Jufer, facing up to 75 years in prison, pleaded guilty
Defacing a poster gets you thrown in prison for... how long? What if you owned a copy of the poster and defaced it? Still in jail?
In Thailand you can pretty much do just about anything you want to without fear of being arrested as long as you aren't hurting anyone, stealing anything etc. However they have these religious icons (they look like kids toys) and royalty posters throughout the country. They take these things serious and have serious penalties for people that purposely deface them. If you are in the country for more than a few hours you should know this. Only an idiot would be stupid enough to feel the need to deface these sacred icons.