BANGKOK, Nov 23 – Thailand’s Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced a 61-year-old man to 20 years in jail for sending text messages deemed insulting the country’s revered monarch to a private secretary of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The sentence was read via tele-conference as the defendant, Ampon Tangnoppakul, 61, did not appear to hear the court verdict due to inconvenience as the Bangkok Remand Prison where he is jailed is now flooded.

Read more: MCOT