FEATURE - Academic accused of insulting Thai king in exam paper

By Darren Schuettler

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Question 8 on Professor Boonsong Chaisingkananont's examination may seem a harmless academic exercise.

"Do you think the monarchy is necessary for Thai society? How should it adapt to a democratic system? Please debate."

But in Thailand, one of the few countries where laws protecting royalty are strictly enforced, it is a taboo question which could land the 46-year-old philosophy lecturer in jail.

Acting on a complaint from a fellow professor at Silpakorn University, police are investigating whether Boonsong insulted King Bhumibol Adulyadej by asking his first-year students to debate the role of the monarchy in exams in 2005 and 2006.

Professor Winai Poonampol said he went to police because Boonsong's teachings posed "a threat to society".

"It should not be biased, teaching only one side like a doctrine," he said.

The accusation is a serious one.

Seen by many Thais as the guiding light, King Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning monarch who turns 80 in December, receives a near-religious devotion from much of the country's 63 million people.