Swiss man faces 75 yrs in Thai jail for defacing pictures of the king

"BANGKOK (Reuters) - Police are looking to prosecute a Swiss who defaced images of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej during a drunken rampage on the monarch's birthday with five separate acts of lese majeste which could land him in jail for up to 75 years.

Oliver Rudolf Jufer, 57 and a long-term resident of the northern province of Chiang Mai, was arrested earlier this month after several portraits of King Bhumibol, whom many Thais regards as semi-divine, were daubed in black paint.

He has been in jail ever since while police investigated an incident which falls under draconian lese majeste laws that carry a penalty of between three and 15 years in jail for any insult to a royal. [...]"