Appeal Court acquits Jakkrit’s widow

[snoop1130]

Appeal Court acquits Jakkrit’s widow

By The Nation

 

File photo: Nithiwadee “Mor Nim” Phucharoenyos (L) and Surang Duangchinda (R)

 

Nithiwadee “Mor Nim” Phucharoenyos, the widow of slain former Olympic marksman Jakkrit Panichpatikum, on Tuesday walked out of court a free woman, thanks to her acquittal by the Appeal Court, but with tears brimming in her eyes.

 

The tears were for Nithiwadee’s 76-year-old mother Surang Duangchinda whose death sentence was commuted to life in prison after confessing that she, rather than her daughter, had orchestrated the 2013 fatal shooting of Jakkrit.

 

The 42-year-old Nithiwadee broke into tears when she heard the punishment given her elderly mother, while the old lady remained calm throughout the two-hour verdict reading at the Min Buri Court.

 

Santi Thongsem, a 32-year-old lawyer who helped arrange the killing contract, had his death sentence upheld for his role in the murder conspiracy. The Appeal Court also upheld the life sentences given to Jeerasak Klinkhai, the 47-year-old gunman, and Tawatchai Phetchote, 35, who followed Jakkrit on October 19, 2013 to inform Jeerasak of the victim’s exact location. 

 

The Appeal Court verdict also ordered Jeerasak, Surang, Santi and Thawatchai to pay a Bt2.5 million compensation to Jakkrit’s parents who had lost their son and the support he could have provided. The verdict was a flip from the previous court’s 2016 ruling that had given both Nithiwadee and Santi death sentences and had acquitted Surang despite her claim that she ordered the killing.

 

The Appeal Court concluded there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Nithiwadee ordered her ex-husband’s killing, and that her relationship with Jakkrit despite being separated was apparently without rage. The court heard that the couple still visited one another, had sexual relations, and Nithiwadee took her children to visit Jakkrit at a prison. 

 

The court found Surang’s previous confession of having ordered the killing convincing. She reportedly was angry with Jakkrit for hurting her daughter and a grandchild and believed the man wouldn’t change his character, and hence had had him killed.

 

Chamnan Chadit, Nithiwadee’s lawyer who would later submit Bt1 million-worth of assets to apply for Surang’s bail release pending the Supreme Court battle, later commented that the court had acquitted Nithiwadee on the belief that she might have reunited with Jakkrit if he had not been killed. The court also believed that if Nithiwadee had hired someone to kill him, she wouldn’t have been in the car with him that day, he said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30351657

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-8-7

[webfact]

Jakkrit’s widow acquitted as her mother gets life in prison

By The Nation

 

Dr.Nithiwadee Phucharoenyos

 

DR NITHIWADEE Phucharoenyos, the widow of slain Olympic marksman Jakkrit Panichpatikum, yesterday walked out of court a free woman after she was acquitted by the Court of Appeals.
 

However, she still had tears of sorrow as the Court overturned the First Court’s ruling and sentenced her mother, Surang Duangchinda, to life in prison. The Appeals court accepted the mother’s confession that she, and not her daughter, had orchestrated the 2013 fatal shooting of her son-in-law.

 

 

Nithiwadee, 42, broke down in tears when she heard her elderly mother’s punishment, while the 76-year-old Surang remained calm throughout the two-hour reading of the verdict at the Min Buri Court.

 

Later in the afternoon, however, Surang was released on Bt1-million bail.

 

Santi Thongsem, a 32-year-old lawyer who arranged the contract killing, had his death sentence upheld for his role in the murder. The Court of Appeals also upheld the life sentences given to Jeerasak Klinkhai, the 47-year-old gunman, and Tawatchai Phetchote, 35, who was assigned to follow Jakkrit on October 19, 2013, and inform Jeerasak of the victim’s exact location. 

 

 

The Court also ordered Jeerasak, Surang, Santi and Tawatchai to pay Bt2.5 million in compensation to Jakkrit’s parents. 

 

The verdict was a reversal of the previous court’s 2016 ruling that had given Nithiwadee and Santi death sentences and acquitted Surang despite her claim that she ordered the killing.

 

The Court said there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Nithiwadee had ordered her ex-husband’s killing, and that her relationship with Jakkrit, despite having separated, was apparently without rage. The court heard that the couple still visited one another, had sexual relations and Nithiwadee took her children to visit Jakkrit in prison.

 

 

The doctor had even joined the ride with Jakkrit when the hitman attacked him in 2013, adding to the Court’s belief that she knew nothing about the killing. 

 

The court found Surang’s previous confession of having ordered the killing convincing. She was angry with Jakkrit for hurting her daughter and a grandchild and believed the man would not change his character, and hence she had him killed.

 

Chamnan Chadit, Nithiwadee’s lawyer, said that the court had acquitted Nithiwadee on the belief that she might have reunited with Jakkrit if he had not been killed. 

 

Meanwhile, Boonkid Panichpati-kum, 71, who is Jakkrit’s mother, said she respected the ruling of the Appeals Court but had not expected it to come out like this.

 

Talking about her two grandchildren, Boonkid said the eldest lived with Surang and the other with Nithiwadee.

She had met them in July after having not seen them for about a year.

 

“I felt sorry for Surang as she is old and has a chronic illness. I, however, personally forgive her for everything,” she said. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30351683

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-08

[soalbundy]

mummy took the rap

[1duckyboy]

36 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

mummy took the rap

Yes, and she's now out on bail after being found guilty of murder and given a life sentence. 

 

“I felt sorry for Surang as she is old and has a chronic illness. I, however, personally forgive her for everything,” she said. 

 

^ Sounds like laying the groundwork for a future appeal to commute her sentence to time served. 

[BoganInParasite]

54 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

mummy took the rap

My thoughts are the same.

[sammieuk1]

Looks like a judge took a shine to her wonder why ?but the most perplexing bit is you can't trust a lawyer shocked?

[SOTIRIOS]

...hardly looks sorrowful....

 

....monstrous.....

[soistalker]

The thai courts are an international joke.

[Darcula]

Death sentence to the middleman, but the mastermind and the guy who actually pulled the trigger get life sentences. #Thainess

[nahkit]

No mention of the court case regarding the 60 million baht that she was alleged to have taken from his safety deposit box a few weeks before he was murdered.

 

There was also a version of the story on the Bangkok Post yesterday that said his maid was with him in the car, not his wife, as stated in this article.

Edited August 8, 2018 by nahkit

[1duckyboy]

21 hours ago, nahkit said:

No mention of the court case regarding the 60 million baht that she was alleged to have taken from his safety deposit box a few weeks before he was murdered.

 

There was also a version of the story on the Bangkok Post yesterday that said his maid was with him in the car, not his wife, as stated in this article.

Also no mention of the wife's mother granted bail after her life sentence was handed down. Only in Thailand.