First Anna Arrest

Not content with merely banning the latest Jodie Foster movie Anna and the King, the Thai police are cracking down on anyone who sells, owns or screens an illegal copy of the movie. The first arrest took place yesterday in Bangkok when two people - one a university student - were arrested and charged with handling an illegal copy of the film, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail. The pair may yet be charged with the more serious offence of lese-majeste. According to The Bangkok Post, an estimated 5,000 copies of the VCD version of the film are said to be available on the Thai pirate market. Demand has been higher for pirated versions of Anna and the King than other Hollywood movies as a result of the ban. The popular Thai movie website www.thaistudents.com may come under threat from the authorities because of content that includes hundreds of pictures from the movie and also downloads of video clips and trailers. 'The students that help with the web site have seen all the movies during their research,' said the site co-ordinator Richard Barrow, 'and we're hoping that we won't be prosecuted.'