The Criminal Court handed down two-year sentences yesterday to two protesters for an attempted arson attack on a police truck in 2021.
The ruling was read at the court on Ratchadaphisek Road in response to a lawsuit filed by prosecutors against students Sakda Udomsri and Kanpirom Budkot on charges including arson, illegal assembly and threatening behaviour.
On Aug 11, 2021, they joined a rally of about 600 people held to oust Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
They marched from Victory Monument to Gen Prayut’s house at the 1st Infantry Regiment, King’s Close Bodyguard, which was guarded at the time by crowd control police.
Protesters threw objects at officers and set fire to a police truck, with damages amounting to about 2.1 million baht.
A video clip from Facebook live showed the students threw a fiery projectile at one of the car’s tyres, setting it alight, before a different person slung another flaming object at the truck.
The court ruled the defendants did not burn the truck.
However, they were still found guilty of attempted arson as a result of setting fire to other people’s property.