Bangkok: Two people have been charged in Thailand with spreading false information about the health of the king, after rumours last month sent the stock market plunging, police said on Monday.
A man and a woman, both Thai and with finance industry backgrounds, were charged under a computer law, accused of damaging national security by posting false information on the Internet, said police colonel Achayon Kraithong.
"They were charged with violating computer act article 14," he said.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, the world's longest-reigning monarch, has been in hospital since mid-September with a lung infection and fever.
The Thai bourse plunged 8.22 percent at one point on October 15 over the rumours about the king, who is revered as a demi-god by many Thais and has long been seen as a stabilising force in a politically turbulent nation.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, November 02, 2009, 15:16