A Thai woman, Umaporn Sarasat, who allegedly made offensive comments online about the country's late king had to apologize in public. She had to kneel before the portrait of the recently deceased monarch at a police station on the tourist island of Samui.
The crowd jeered when Umaporn appeared. A line of police officers linked arms to keep people from taking other actions. Incidents like this one have been common since King Bhumibol Adulyadej died last week. His reign lasted 70 years in Thailand and is respected by a high percentage of the local population.
It´s possible that the woman, a small business owner, will face charges because of her comments on the king.
Authorities want people to stay calm while on the other hand the media has been criticizing those people who don´t wear black and white clothing to mourn the revered monarch.
Local authorities said this is possible that some people can't buy mourning clothes because the price of these products has increased since the death of the King, thus, there must be a level of tolerance. There has been a great demand for these clothes lately.
Thousands of Thais have gone to the Grand Palace in Bangkok where the Monarch's body stays. The government has declared a whole year of mourning.
Several foreign governments have warned their citizens not to travel to Thailand to avoid behavior that could be misunderstood by the local population.
On Friday, police and soldiers on the resort island of Phuket dispersed hundreds of people seeking a confrontation with a man who supposedly had insulted the king.
Thailand has strict laws that impose prison sentences for actions or writings considered offensive against the royal family.
The main cable TV network of Thailand has blocked foreign news broadcasts supposed to be insensitive against the local monarchy since the death of the king. Clearly, there are great cultural differences with the West.
