A billionaire Thai opposition figure was charged yesterday with defaming the monarchy after he questioned the government's alleged over-reliance on coronavirus vaccines from a company linked to the royal family. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, founder of the now-dissolved Future Forward Party, posted a video on Facebook in January in which he queried whether Thailand was leaning too heavily on Siam Bioscience for its vaccination campaign. The company is owned by the Crown Property Bureau, which manages the royal family's multi-billion-dollar fortune. A Bangkok criminal court yesterday charged Thanathorn with lese majeste and a computer crime over that video. Those convicted under Thailand's strict royal defamation laws can face up to 15 years in jail per charge.