On 29 June at the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road, the court convened to deliver a verdict in the case where "Poo Mantana Himathongkham" aged 47, former 1998 Miss Thailand runner-up and actress, filed a lawsuit against "Lilly Nguyen" a Vietnamese-Laotian model and influencer, and "Lawyer Kung Amnuayporn Maneewan" a lawyer, who are defendants 1 and 2 respectively, on charges of defamation by advertising.
The case stemmed from 7 July 2024 when both defendants appeared on a TV program broadcast on a certain channel and online. Their statements in the show caused damage by alleging debt collection and publicly shaming Poo Mantana for having large debts, which was untrue since she only owed two creditors. This caused the plaintiff stress severe enough to require medical treatment.
The Criminal Court conducted a preliminary hearing and dismissed charges against "Lilly Nguyen", defendant 1, this morning due to insufficient evidence. Defendant 2, "Lawyer Kung", attended the verdict hearing accompanied by "Lookmee Rasamee Thongsiripraisri" a former famous model, and "Lawyer Decha Kittivitayanan".
Upon reviewing evidence from both plaintiff and defendants, the court found that defendant 2 spoke on the program implying the plaintiff had many debtors. This exceeded his duties as a lawyer and was not to protect his client’s interests, nor did it benefit the public. Any other rights could have been defended through legal channels. Defendant 2's actions thus constituted defamation by advertising under Section 328. He was sentenced to 1 year in prison, suspended for 2 years, and fined 100,000 baht.
Lawyer Kung, speaking alongside Lookmee, said, "I accept that we lost this case due to one mistaken statement. We must be careful with our words, but it's okay. We will appeal and continue to fight. I have already paid the 100,000 baht fine in cash. However, we have won five cases and lost only this one, so it’s five to one."
He added he was not worried and considered this the first case as a lawyer where he was sentenced to prison with a suspended term. The court’s punishment was because the statements were personal and not in the public interest.
He respected the court’s decision and said they would contest issues in the appeal, including the complaint, defense, evidence, and statute of limitations. Regarding Lilly Nguyen’s case, the court dismissed both cases against her during the preliminary hearing, though they might file counterclaims."
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