Thai Policeman Guilty - Gets Life In Prison

[george]

THAI POLICEMAN GUILTY

KANCHANABURI: -- A Thai policeman has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering two British tourists in September last year.

Somchai Visetsing shot Vanessa Arscott, 24, and her boyfriend Adam Lloyd, 25 after a row outside a restaurant in western Thailand.

Mr Lloyd was shot in the stomach, head and arm before Somchai turned on his girlfriend.

She was hit with a car and dragged her 200 metres down the road before being shot in the body and head.

Visetsing, 39, spent a month on the run in the neighbouring country of Burma before surrendering to Thai police.

He denied two counts of murder and illegal possession of weapons.

Eileen Arscott, grandmother of the dead woman, described Somchai as a "psychopath".

She said: "This last month, coming up to this date, it has got worse each day - your stomach churns.

"You're thinking of these two lovely children all the time, and what that wicked man did, and you are not really in control of yourself."

Mr Lloyd and Miss Arscott, both from Devon, had been travelling together for two months and were due to return to Britain three days after the tragedy.

--Sky news 2005-05-26

[siam]

My feelings are with the deceased families, But I hope he rots in ###### with no parole,

As someone else stated in another thread, The death sentence would've been too easy for him.So it is some kind of justice that he was convicted.

[george]

Policeman guilty of Thai murders

KANCHANABURI: -- A Thai police sergeant has been convicted of killing two British backpackers and jailed for life.

Adam Lloyd, 25, from Torquay, and Vanessa Arscott, 23, from Ashburton, Devon, died near Kanchanaburi, 80 miles west of Bangkok, in September 2003.

Somchai Wisetsingh, 40, had denied murdering Mr Lloyd and running over and killing Miss Arscott following an incident at his restaurant.

The victims' parents were at the Thai courthouse for the verdict.

Somchai was handed two life sentences for the killings, and convicted on two separate weapons charges.

He faced the death sentence but Judge Dilok Boonthawinant said a confession to police made him change it to life imprisonment.

The sergeant, who surrendered to the authorities on 7 October, told the court he shot Mr Lloyd after the Briton spat in his face during an argument.

He said he had not intended to kill Miss Arscott, whom he accidentally hit with his car as she tried to stop him from fleeing, and then shot in a panic.

Miss Arscott's mother Joyce, who flew out to Thailand with her younger sister Alyssa on Tuesday night, had earlier said she was "optimistic" that Sgt Wisetsingh would be found guilty.

She added: "We will be happy if we get the right verdict, but we have still got to come to terms and start grieving properly.

"They were two dear kids. They had a wonderful holiday and said what a lovely country it was, what lovely people they met.

"They said although they were looking forward to coming home, they said 'Thailand has been like a home to us'."

Asked about the possibility that Somchai could be sentenced to death if found guilty, she said: "I don't care what they do with him as long as he pays for his sins."

Miss Arscott and Mr Lloyd, from Torquay, Devon, had been travelling in Thailand for two months. They were killed two days before they were to fly home.

--BBC 2005-05-26

[taxexile]

well its the correct verdict , and a good sentence , but i wonder if he will have a hard time in gaol.

with all his contacts , influence and supporters i suspect he will be treated with some priveledge , getting good food and whisky brought in , visits home to his wife and to the massage parlour at weekends.

hopefully he will encounter some of his enemies in gaol and he may get cut up a bit , or a lot , on a regular basis.

he deserves many years of unrelenting misery, fear and hardship , which is what prison should like be for someone like him.

anybody got the address of the prison <snip>

spoilsport george

Edited May 26, 2005 by taxexile

[chuchok]

He faced the death sentence but Judge Dilok Boonthawinant said a confession to police made him change it to life imprisonment.

Hang on...didn't he rescind the guilty plee????

[The_Doctor]

He faced the death sentence but Judge Dilok Boonthawinant said a confession to police made him change it to life imprisonment.

Hang on...didn't he rescind the guilty plee????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats what I was thinking...?????

[snoophound]

Well deserved and gives some confidence in the system in Thailand.

I would still like to know the real story now its all done.

I mean those pics made them all look like friends?

Plod looked like he was coming on to her?

Then it turns ugly,he spits on him?????

Cop chases and shoots him??

etc etc

Unfort its only Somchai who can come clean on this.

He faced the death sentence but Judge Dilok Boonthawinant said a confession to police made him change it to life imprisonment.

Hang on...didn't he rescind the guilty plee????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats what I was thinking...?????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Artisi]

forget the semantics - he got exactly what he deserved. Just hope he has lots of enemies inside.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Hear hear

[swat]

At least justice for all.Put him in a time machine and dump him in a dungeon.

[wcr]

Justice has been done. I hope he doesn't get an appeal hearing that overturns the decision. Anyone know if he is able to appeal this?

[maerim]

Excellent news, I hope he gets the same treatment as others who comit these crimes but somehow I doubt it.

Let us hope it will be a warning to others.

[aiyajojo]

woh woh woh guys... hold on a F... second... i read the first 5 posts... but it didn't say why this thai guy killed the couple ... it just talked about the dead it was blamed on him for..? what? i can understand the illegal weapons...but if he hadnt killed anybody, they wouldn't have known he had weapons in the first place! ... so what drove this man to kill this 'innocent' people? what did they do at the restaurant? what did they say? ... if it has been said, i sorry, i didn't see the post...my bad...

[aiyajojo]

im also adding that it is 'psychopathic' to shoot people...in the HEAD!... that is insane... what was he really that crazy that made him do such a nasty thing?? maybe there are connections with in the incident... i am only speaking from what i read...ok? so i apologize for any misunderstanding or whatever...

[Wolfie]

so what drove this man to kill this 'innocent' people? what did they do at the restaurant? what did they say?

Does it matter, whatever happened that night the brutal, cold-blooded murder of two people was not justified... and now he pays the price of his crimes, as convicted by a court of law in Thailand.

[marquess]

Nice to see jusice served!

[thymode91]

At least justice for all.Put him in a time machine and dump him in a dungeon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[thymode91]

so what drove this man to kill this 'innocent' people? what did they do at the restaurant? what did they say?

Does it matter, whatever happened that night the brutal, cold-blooded murder of two people was not justified... and now he pays the price of his crimes, as convicted by a court of law in Thailand.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Agree!

[sriracha john]

More from Reuters:

"The plaintiffs' witnesses and evidence have convinced the court that the defendant committed the crimes of intentional killing a person and killing another to avoid his first crime as charged," said Judge Dilok Bultaweenan, reading out the verdict.

Families of the victims hugged each other as an interpreter translated the ruling.

Somchai, who went on the run for a month after the killings, was initially sentenced to death, but had that punishment commuted to life in prison because he surrendered and confessed to police.

During a confusing series of court appearances, Somchai denied admitting he had shot Lloyd because he spat in his face after a heated argument at Somchai's riverside restaurant.

He said another man, whom he did not know, had killed the couple.

But the judge said Somchai's testimonies "were groundless and could not counter the plaintiffs' witnesses".

The court statement said that after Somchai shot Lloyd he ran over Arscott, and then shot her several times at point-blank range as she tried to crawl away.

Somchai's lawyer said he would appeal the conviction.

[thymode91]

its a very good news . at least this guy pays the price of his crimes.

[jorgencm]

well its the correct verdict , and a good sentence , but i wonder if he will have a hard time in gaol.

with all his contacts , influence and supporters i suspect he will be treated with some priveledge , getting good food and whisky brought in , visits home to his wife and to the massage parlour at weekends.

hopefully he will encounter some of his enemies in gaol and he may get cut up a bit , or a lot , on a regular basis.

he deserves many years of unrelenting misery, fear and hardship , which is what prison should like be for someone like him.

anybody got the address of the prison <snip>

spoilsport george 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Bluffer]

How do coppers generally get treated inside? Do they really still manage to keep their "friends and influence" or do they get thrown to the wolves?

[ray23]

More from Reuters:

"The plaintiffs' witnesses and evidence have convinced the court that the defendant committed the crimes of intentional killing a person and killing another to avoid his first crime as charged," said Judge Dilok Bultaweenan, reading out the verdict.

Families of the victims hugged each other as an interpreter translated the ruling.

Somchai, who went on the run for a month after the killings, was initially sentenced to death, but had that punishment commuted to life in prison because he surrendered and confessed to police.

During a confusing series of court appearances, Somchai denied admitting he had shot Lloyd because he spat in his face after a heated argument at Somchai's riverside restaurant.

He said another man, whom he did not know, had killed the couple.

But the judge said Somchai's testimonies "were groundless and could not counter the plaintiffs' witnesses".

The court statement said that after Somchai shot Lloyd he ran over Arscott, and then shot her several times at point-blank range as she tried to crawl away.

Somchai's lawyer said he would appeal the conviction.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ah yes the Appeals, with any luck the system will be laxed as to the jail accomidations and the fine sole will be put in with some of those he had put in there himself. With a guy like this I'm syre there were wrongful convictions. If he is housed with them there might not be time for many appeals.

[sriracha john]

Provincial judge Rungrat Vijitjongkol said several witnesses had testified that Somchai's car was at the scene, and said they heard gunfire and had seen the suspect with the two tourists.

here, here for the witnesses standing up and testifying

"For the murder of Adam Lloyd, the sentence is life in prison. For the murder of Vanessa Ascott to cover up the crime of murdering Lloyd, the sentence should be the death penalty, but because he confessed during the investigation and provided useful information to authorities, the sentence is reduced to life in prison," Rungrat said.

hmmmm... I don't feel the "useful information" that he provided was worth commuting the death sentence. The authorities already had much evidence.. and besides, how "useful" was he to the investigation while he was running away in Burma?

The victim's father, Brian Lloyd, 57, said the families of the victims were pleased with the conviction, but urged the court not to release Somchai on bail during the appeals process. The policeman was granted bail during the trial.

"We appeal to the minister of justice and the attorney general to ensure that this convicted murderer remains securely locked up, and is not granted bail."

"No form of punishment could ever bring our children back, and we trust that the sentence given to this butcher of our children will be served in full," Lloyd said.

ABSOLUTELY NO BAIL WHILE ON APPEAL!!

[mnoorsapl]

THAI POLICEMAN GUILTY

She was hit with a car and dragged her 200 metres down the road before being shot in the body and head.

Visetsing, 39, spent a month on the run in the neighbouring country of Burma before surrendering to Thai police.

--Sky news 2005-05-26

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How about dragged him for 200 metres down the road for 39 days and then put him to jail till he rots.

[Miker]

He said another man, whom he did not know, had killed the couple.

Was it not reported that "the other man" was one of his informants - but he didn't know his name!!

There was so many inconsistances in not only Somchai's statements, but also in the Courts ruling, its a wonder that it turned out the way it did.

I just hope the word "parole" didn't feature in the Courts verdict. May he rot in something worse than ###### - a Thai prison.

[sriracha john]

Being led from the courthouse:

May these never come off until they melt while his body burns in the crematorium.... and may his spirit spend eternity in pain.

[Sir Burr]

Glad he didn't get the death sentence.

Dying is easy.

Doing the time ain't.

[Bilko]

Glad he didn't get the death sentence.

Dying is easy.

Doing the time ain't.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You have experienced either of the two ?

Edited May 26, 2005 by Bilko

[Sir Burr]

It's easy to die. For him it would be a few minutes of terror then oblivion. Hardly just.

I know I would rather die than do a life sentence.

I did one night in IDC and I know that was h3ll!