PUBLISHED : 20 Jul 2023 at 04:33
Mongkutwattana Hospital director, Maj Gen Dr Rianthong Nanna, was on Wednesday handed a suspended prison term and ordered to pay a 200,000-baht fine in a defamation case filed against him by Sira Jenjaka, a former Palang Pracharath Party MP for Bangkok.
The Criminal Court suspended the two-year prison term because it considered the doctor to be a person who normally performed good deeds and contributed to the betterment of society, according to the ruling.
The 200,000-baht fine was ordered to be paid with interest of 7.5% per year.
On May 7, 2021, Maj Gen Dr Rianthong posted a message on his Facebook account accusing Mr Sira, who at the time represented Lak Si district office, of obstructing the work of a field hospital for Covid-19 patients.
The message, which was set as a public post and could be seen by anyone, contained vulgar words and described Mr Sira as a badly behaved politician, the ruling said.
Dr Rianthong’s Facebook account has a large number of followers.
The doctor could have simply warned Mr Sira in person not to obstruct medical staff treating Covid-19 patients at the hospital, but instead posted comments on Facebook which damaged Mr Sira’s reputation, according to the ruling. Mr Sira was visiting the field hospital because he had received a complaint from a patient, the court was told.
Mr Sira was a member of the House committee on justice and humanitarian issues, while Dr Rianthong is a well-known public figure.
Dr Rianthong, who was accompanied by his lawyer, pled not guilty.