Miss Universe Thailand 2021 Anchilee Scott-Kemmis could face a fine for standing on stripes of color that seemed to resemble the Thai flag. Mr. Sonthiya Sawasdee, a former adviser to the House Committee on Law, Justice, and Human Rights filed a report with Pol Lt Gen Samran Nuanma, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB), asking that action be taken against Miss Scott-Kemmis.
Mr. Sonthiya claimed Miss Scott-Kemmis violated the 1979 Flag Act and PM’s Office order to ban the use of national flags for commercial purposes, although the picture of Anchilee was a promotional campaign before she competes in the 70th Miss Universe in Israel on December 12. Mr. Sonthiya said he only wanted to protect the prestige of the Thai flag.
Meanwhile, Decha Kittiwitthayanan, a famous lawyer and head of the Thanai Klai Took lawyers’ network, said violators against the national flag can face a maximum jail term of two years, or a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both.
However, he did not think Miss Scott-Kemmis’ action could be counted as a crime, because she did it for the beauty pageant promotional campaign without any intentions of violating the law. (NNT)