Seems a bit harsh for stealing 44 thousand pounds. It doesn't sound like a well thought out crime by master criminals. More like a crime of opportunity by a couple of poor petrol pump attendants with bad managers. They should be punished but the punishment should fit the crime.

Could the real crime be that these were thai's cheating and scamming other thai's when there are plenty of farangs around? Just kidding people.

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Is this how they came up with 1562 years. 1 year jail term for every time they used the card and 1 year for each person they cheated. That is 1533 + 29 = 1562.

They should have all sentences run concurrently, and be out in a year. This is utter and complete BS.

I've seen hard core criminals get off with a couple of years prison sentence for heinous crimes, and these two are made an example off. TIT.

Lesson of the day: If you want to cheat in Thailand, cheat big, real big (in the hundred of millions or billions), because if you get caught you can bribe your way out. If you cheat small (a couple of million), you will have to be cryogenicaly frozen to ensure you do your time.

isnt there a unwritten law about the poor should never steal from the rich that goes back to the days of slavery because if your caught the penalties are 100 times harder then the rich stealing from the poor

It's good to see the government making an example of poor people who steal. It won't be tolerated.

The sooner people realise that only politicians and police are allowed to steal the better.

RKIDLAD That is an utter gem.

However it's not only Thailand. I remember being shocked that the great train robbers in UK ( ok I'm OLD)

got longer sentences than murderers.

That's because it was armed robbery which can't be tolerated in any society! They're not walking into banks, trains, stations or warehouses with feather dusters they have shot guns, beat people down who don't comply instantly, make death threats and crap the life out of people and yes they often kill people when the shit hits the fan. This couple was armed with plastic cards and tapping digits into ATM machines, hardly comparable!

good point, well made, I'd say!!

Great to see a court getting serious with offenders, I just wish they would start applying these types of sentences to other more serious crimes like child molestation.

It's 570,130 days in jail. They'll have no shortage of time to contemplate their deeds.

The 7.5% interest rate jumped out at me, considering the current rate of interest in Thailand. Then I found this;

In case of a loan of money, the Thai Civil and Commercial Code, Section 654, provides that “interest shall not exceed 15% per year. When a higher rate of interest is fixed by the contract, it shall be reduced to 15% per year.” Ok, so the judge was less harsh than was allowed. Unfortunately, these people will be unable to pay off the debt at an interest rate of 7.5% What’s the point? Yes it’s good that slimey fraudsters are punished, but if the goal is also restitution, then the judgement won't accomplish that. I agree with harsh penalties and all that, but I still find it odd that property crimes seem to be treated much harsher than crimes of violence and human exploitation.

^^ Spot on!

It is interesting that the government is pressing for analytical thinking in education and meanwhile the judicial system (same in USA, UK etc.) depend on the last best argument to come up with their version of truth. Have you ever heard university law students debate totally absurd arguments and win? Have you ever thought how scary this is? The only improvement in the judicial over the religious is that the religious arguments were determined in long past history and are now immutable. There is some evolution in law but the failed appendices will always be with us.

It is sad, the survival of mankind is within the grasp of the curious and the compassionate and now it is slipping through fingers well oiled  with greed and the dishonesty. You people that have made it rich, what do you do with your extra money? Improve your view? Soften your seats? Perhaps you pride yourself as a philanthropists but forget what the old lady said.

"If it doesn't hurt, it isn't giving". 

The river of indulgence flows through this beautiful country, it knows no mercy. I am sorry for the two charged and sentenced here. They are either victims of the flawed dream of success or they are scapegoats of the criminals who can afford the best argument. We will never know.