US citizen pleads guilty to insulting Thai royals

A US citizen pleaded guilty in a Thai court on Monday to charges of insulting the monarchy, an offence in theory punishable by up to 15 years in prison under controversial lese majeste laws. Thai-born Joe Wichai Commart Gordon was arrested in May while on holiday in the kingdom and accused of posting material deemed offensive on his blog, and posting a link to a translation of a banned book, while living in the United States. "I do not want to fight this case. I plead guilty to all the accusations," the 55-year-old car salesman who lives in Colorado told Bangkok's Criminal Court. His lawyer Arnon Nampa said he hoped Gordon would receive the most lenient potential sentence of three years and that the guilty plea would then see his prison term halved. He is also hoping for a royal pardon. The judge said Gordon will be sentenced on November 9.