Chonticha Jangrew, a Move Forward Party MP-elect for Pathum Thani who faces a charge of violating the lese majeste law, has petitioned the Judicial Commission to launch a disciplinary probe against a Criminal Court judge, accusing him of rushing the case against her.
She said she was charged with violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code after she wrote a letter containing language deemed offensive to the monarchy on June 27 last year.
She said she asked the court to hold a witness hearing in March next year because her lawyer, who is busy handling several other cases, will then be free to represent her in court.
However, she said that in July last year, a court official called her lawyer to tell him that the court wanted to reschedule the hearing for two new dates -- one this month and the other in August this year, but her lawyer insisted that he would not be free.
Ms Chonticha said that she went to the court again on Thursday to seek the postponement of the hearing. However, Atthakarn Fucharoen, a deputy chief justice of the Criminal Court, who is among a panel of judges handling the case, rejected her request.
On Thursday when the court heard the plaintiff's witness, she attended the hearing without her lawyer, she added.
However, Sorawit Limparangsri, spokesman of the Judicial Commission, explained that the Criminal Court decided that holding the witness hearing in March next year, as requested by Ms Chonticha, would mean a long, drawn-out process.
In light of this, it had been rescheduled for Thursday and yesterday, Mr Sorawit said.
Even though the defendant argued her lawyer was not free on those dates and asked for the hearing to be postponed, it was found that Ms Chonticha had two lawyers appointed to represent her.
"Therefore, if one of her lawyers is not free, the other still can represent her in court," he said.
