Bail hopes rise for Kalasin woman jailed for 15 years for picking mushrooms

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COURT
Bail hopes rise for woman in forest case
The Nation

48-year-old jailed for 15 years for picking mushrooms

BANGKOK: -- A BAIL release application for Daeng Sirisorn, a 48-year-old Kalasin woman sentenced to 15 years in prison for forest-reserve encroachment after she went mushrooming with her husband, would be submitted tomorrow, according to her lawyer.

It would be known by Wednesday whether her release would be approved, he said. The story of Daeng and her 51-year-old husband Udom was circulated over Thai social media, after they were arrested in Kalasin's Huai Mek district on July 12, 2010 for allegedly collecting mushrooms. They were later charged with forest encroachment and illegal logging.

The couple was sentenced to 30 years in prison, a penalty which was halved due to their claimed "useful confession"

When the case went before the Supreme Court, the ailing Udom was released on Bt500,000 bail. Lawyer Songkran Atchariyasap, chairman of the Network Against Acts that Destroy Kingdom, Religion and Monarchy, said his group found suspicious circumstances in the case. He urged the Supreme Court to probe all state officials involved - including forestry officials, police investigators and a public prosecutor.

Songkran repeated that neither Udom nor Daeng had made confessions during the police and public prosecutor's phases of the case. He also claimed that the public prosecutor's handling of the indictment, by not studying police investigation reports thoroughly, was careless. He cited forestry officials as saying that they didn't find the couple at the scene but their motorcycle - so official inquiries about the motorbike were met by the couple's admission of collecting mushrooms, an action upon which the police investigation was based.

Asking if the couple was being scapegoated by some officials trying to help a forest-encroaching investor, he said the group would apply for Daeng's bail release tomorrow. He urged the Supreme Court to look at the case details and approve Daeng's bail so she could take care of her husband and urged the attorney general to probe the case.

"Udom has a hearing problem and is unable to walk properly. He's also sick and needs treatment from an accident in which he was hit by a truck and sustained brain haemorrhage. After being in jail for one year and eight months, he was bailed pending the Supreme Court's ruling," Songkran said. Claiming the forest encroachment charge came out of nowhere, Songkran said the investigation was conducted without a lawyer present and continued until the couple filed a complaint to Songkran's group while the case was going to the Supreme Court.

Udom insisted that they went to the woods to collect mushrooms, not logging or encroaching, but they were later wrongfully jailed. Saying he felt disheartened by his fate, he said he sympathised with his wife who remained in jail because she wasn't yet bailed. He recalled that during the time he was in jail, he wrote to her in a separate facility, telling her he was okay and able to eat.

"Actually I still can't get over it, I still cry almost everyday. [but] today I feel hopeful that now many people are trying to help us," he added.


-- The Nation 2013-12-23

[EricBerg]

That child-molester got only three years when he was convicted before.

These two got 15 years for picking mushrooms.

The drunk-driving-killing Red Bull kid after a year still hasn't appeared in court but is partying abroad.

The missunderstood fugitive gets a free diplomatic passport instead of an interpol arrest warrant.

What do these lines have in common? Thai injustice.

[ukrules]

This is going to be a very large news story all over the world in the coming weeks.

Literally <deleted> ?

The nutjob guy in Phuket who butchered his girlfriend, stuffed her in a suitcase and dumped her in a swamp only got 10 years.

The reason I never travel to or through the middle east is because of the injustice that's often reported in the news. This means I never fly on certain airlines or visit certain countries which are on my shitlist.

Lots of people have shitlists of countries with crazy laws and I'm sure Thailand just made it onto some of them.

[Thai at Heart]

And you wonder why no one has any faith in the legal system.

Are we seriously to believe that the judges here are worthy of respect? What is wrong with these people?

[NongKhaiKid]

An easy case to be dealt with as she and her husband have no family name, aren't rich, powerful or well connected.

[Jay Sata]

I despair for this woman given the Red Bull heir who killed a cop and ran away.

Justice in Thailand is only for the rich and wealthy.

[Yunla]

God created the planet, all things on it, and gave it to everybody. If you found those mushrooms before anybody else did, pick them, they were meant for you. Why would God put them there and give you arms and legs, if he did not mean for you to walk around picking these delicacies and enjoying them. The only way this would be a crime is if you were shooting other people to stop them getting their share of what God provided. If it is private property, charge the picker with trespass, and escort them peacefully off the property. To suffix, the landowner owns the land, he did NOT create the nature on this planet, even the most powerful human being can not create this world or the nature upon it.

Insert scientific non-religious version at will.

[Jay Sata]

And you wonder why no one has any faith in the legal system.

Are we seriously to believe that the judges here are worthy of respect? What is wrong with these people?

Happens in the UK as well.

The late Ronnie Biggs thrown in jail at the age of 70 after a minor crime he committed forty years ago.

Blair goes free for war crimes. Loads of his cohorts in the Labour party thieve from the public purse and get minor sentences.

Sir Anthony Blunt who was a Russian traitor and Master of the Queens Pictures only outed years after he died although the establishment knew.

Gerry Adams with lot's of Northern Irish blood on his hands. Various Nazi's used by the USA for their space programme.

The little people pay but the Bangkok HiSo kids walk free like their counterparts elsewhere in the world.

[Nibbles48]

The entire country is up in arms about this case.

My wife has been going on about it for days now and the social media is alight with it.

Just another reason why this country needs complete reform.

I hope when it happens, they sort this shit judicial system out and totally eradicate the divide between rich and poor in the law system, and make serving your prison sentences mandatory.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Nibbles48

[mauGR1]

I hope the good people of Thailand will put some pressure on some politician, and have the poor woman freed asap.

It's a shame that somebody is jailed for picking mushrooms, when all sorts of criminals are walking free.

Unfortunately this is not a fair world, and too often there is no justice for the poor.

[chooka]

An easy case to be dealt with as she and her husband have no family name, aren't rich, powerful or well connected.

I think that is pretty much it.

[Thai at Heart]

And you wonder why no one has any faith in the legal system.

Are we seriously to believe that the judges here are worthy of respect? What is wrong with these people?

Happens in the UK as well.

The late Ronnie Biggs thrown in jail at the age of 70 after a minor crime he committed forty years ago.

Blair goes free for war crimes. Loads of his cohorts in the Labour party thieve from the public purse and get minor sentences.

Sir Anthony Blunt who was a Russian traitor and Master of the Queens Pictures only outed years after he died although the establishment knew.

Gerry Adams with lot's of Northern Irish blood on his hands. Various Nazi's used by the USA for their space programme.

The little people pay but the Bangkok HiSo kids walk free like their counterparts elsewhere in the world.

There are injustices, but 15 years for picking mushroom's?

[pitrevie]

I despair for this woman given the Red Bull heir who killed a cop and ran away.

Justice in Thailand is only for the rich and wealthy.

As I have observed previously the judicial system in this country is similar to that in England when judge James Mathew made

the following remark over 100 years ago. "In England, justice is open to all - like the Ritz Hotel", that appears to be an accurate

assesment of the judicial system in Thailand.

[ggold]

I despair for this woman given the Red Bull heir who killed a cop and ran away.

Justice in Thailand is only for the rich and wealthy.

That's not justice! the rich can buy their freedom!

[paz]

If that could help, I would pray for this couple.

I think however that beside the administration of Justice, one must to blame the letter of law in Thailand, that nobody has cared to to reform it for so many years.

If would have been enough to have an article in the Constitution to say "punishement for crime has to be human and reasonable", to quash the sentencing. Evidently there is no such clause so their lawyer has to trying denying that the fact has occured in first place or that they were framed somehow.

Hope the absurd legal ransom that is called bail, will do good in this case otherwise it's kind of desperate situation, as there no higher human rights court in Asia, and Royal pardoning has not been mentioned.

Edited December 23, 2013 by paz

[Monti]

This is just unbelievable.I hope the powers that be will investigate and resolve.Even Putin is giving pardons.

[soi41]

"Freed on bail"

She should be let out of the prison this very morning!!

And all officials, including the "judge" involved in this misscarriage of justice should be ordered to crawl on their knees in front of the couple and ask for forgiveness!!

[edwinchester]

Every now and then on tv you see a short piece on the news about judges being sworn in to do their duty for the king and country.

It is hard to believe that anyone handing down a sentence of 15 years for picking mushrooms in a national park is doing it out of a sense of justice being served.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[andygunther]

An easy case to be dealt with as she and her husband have no family name, aren't rich, powerful or well connected.

Yes, here in Thailand money talks ...

[Jay Sata]

I just hope this lady is released before Christmas.

This sort of debacle is a stain on a nation that call itself freeland or Thailand.

Let's hope we can push this up the global news agenda and shame the judge who locked the poor lady up.

I'm going to message my son at Reuters tomorrow.

[LomSak27]

Good thing those protestors in BangKok are fighting for an end to corruption!!

If they win travesties of justice like this will never happen again.

[PaulHamon]

God created the planet, all things on it, and gave it to everybody. If you found those mushrooms before anybody else did, pick them, they were meant for you. Why would God put them there and give you arms and legs, if he did not mean for you to walk around picking these delicacies and enjoying them. The only way this would be a crime is if you were shooting other people to stop them getting their share of what God provided. If it is private property, charge the picker with trespass, and escort them peacefully off the property. To suffix, the landowner owns the land, he did NOT create the nature on this planet, even the most powerful human being can not create this world or the nature upon it.

Insert scientific non-religious version at will.

god is not real.

[Gone]

I hope this story has gone viral on Facebook. I know I'm gonna post it now and ask all my friends to re-post.

[ChrisY1]

Possibly another "Scapegoat" case that hopefully will unfold and thetruth be known......although I think the cover-ups will be as usual and the cops get away once again.....

The poor are such easy targets here in Thailand.....(

[pitrevie]

And you wonder why no one has any faith in the legal system.

Are we seriously to believe that the judges here are worthy of respect? What is wrong with these people?

Happens in the UK as well.

The late Ronnie Biggs thrown in jail at the age of 70 after a minor crime he committed forty years ago.

Blair goes free for war crimes. Loads of his cohorts in the Labour party thieve from the public purse and get minor sentences.

Sir Anthony Blunt who was a Russian traitor and Master of the Queens Pictures only outed years after he died although the establishment knew.

Gerry Adams with lot's of Northern Irish blood on his hands. Various Nazi's used by the USA for their space programme.

The little people pay but the Bangkok HiSo kids walk free like their counterparts elsewhere in the world.

Shame about Jack Mills the train driver, his career was brought to an end after being beaten over the head with an iron bar during the robbery and died 7 years later. I guess getting away with nearly 3 million pounds in 1963 is a minor crime compared to what goes on these days. I think one of the reasons that Biggs was thrown in jail at the age of 70 was that after being imprisoned he escaped in 1965 and remained a free man until 2001 when he voluntarily returned to the UK.

[thai4me]

Must be missing something in the report. This is too unbelievable to be true.

[Jay Sata]

Thaksin should be on the phone to his sister and tell her to sort it pronto instead of her

wasting time on the train to Nong Khai.

I wonder if she used the toilet on that train?

Pretty basic.

[fakename]

At least there are still some freedoms here. Building resorts on park land seems to be one of them.

[noitom]

Preposterous that the Thais have held this poor woman in prison at all let alone 15 years for poaching a few mushrooms in a forest reserve. The Thais are laughable as the Thai politicians have plundered Thai resources for years on a major scale. Timber, elephant ivory for example.

[Local Drunk]

Preposterous that the Thais have held this poor woman in prison at all let alone 15 years for poaching a few mushrooms in a forest reserve. The Thais are laughable as the Thai politicians have plundered Thai resources for years on a major scale. Timber, elephant ivory for example.

It's what's known as "Equality Under the Law" in Thailand.