Scapegoat in murder case walks free after 5 years

[webfact]

Scapegoat in murder case walks free after 5 years

By PIYANUCH THAMNUKASETCHAI
THE NATION

 

 

Legal saga ends after Worawit found innocent of drug trafficking

 

UBON RATCHATHANI: -- A SCAPEGOAT who was jailed over a wrongful murder conviction and then detained for alleged drug dealing walked out of Ubon Ratchathani Central Prison as a free and vindicated man yesterday.

 

Worawit Sinthongnoi was proven innocent with the help of the Justice Ministry.

 

“We have operated a centre that acts on complaints from people who feel they are unfairly treated during interrogations,” the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary Pol Colonel Dusadee Arawuit said.

 

He said that after receiving a call for help from Worawit, he ordered the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to look into the case and coordinate with relevant organisations and experts to cross-check evidence used in the prosecution. Worawit and three other defendants had been accused in a shooting death.

 

The man who was killed and his friends engaged in a brawl with another group of men in Ubon Ratchathani in October, 2010, after which he was shot and killed.

 

Police believed the young men fighting with the victim’s group must have been responsible for his death. Six suspects were initially arrested, but just five were brought to court.

 

The Criminal Court initially found all five defendants guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The Court of Appeals later decided to reduce the jail term to 12 years and eight months on grounds that the crime was not premeditated murder.

 

The parents of the young suspects believed in their innocence and submitted petitions to the DSI and then the Justice Ministry, which took action. 

 

Ballistic tests and gunpowder tests conducted by King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi then revealed results that contradicted witness statements and the defendants also passed lie-detector tests. 

 

The Justice Ministry submitted the fresh evidence to the Supreme Court, which acquitted all defendants of murder including Worawit, last May. Police, however, continued to detain Worawit accusing him of engaging in drug trafficking. 

 

“He was accused of using a cell phone to facilitate drug deals while being locked up in jail on murder charges,” Dusadee said. 

 

“But we found evidence that he’s innocent.” 

 

There were six men by the name of Worawit in a prison at the time, Dusadee said, adding that five were drug suspects, which pointed to the possibility of confusion. Due to evidence presented by the Justice Ministry, the Dej Udom Court yesterday dropped the drug case against Worawit.

 

 He had been locked up for more than five years, when the prison doors yesterday opened to allow him to walk to his waiting parents.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30316335

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-26

[fasteddie]

I hope the poor guy is suitably compensated but I won't hold my breath.

[Somtamnication]

It won't happen. Govt. cannot lose face. Sad.

[doremifasol]

 

God's justice.

 

I wish him a very happy life.

[smedly]

Thai police have a very high success rate at solving crime and getting convictions

[mtls2005]

With confessions resulting in a 50% reduction in a sentence, and without the funds to pay off the authorities, it makes you wonder how many lower-status people are in Thai jails who may be innocent?

 

Or have unusually long sentences for relatively minor crimes, while they see higher-status people avoid the Thai "legal"/punishment system?

 

"Rule-by-Law" always ends so well.

[wprime]

1 hour ago, fasteddie said:

I hope the poor guy is suitably compensated but I won't hold my breath.

They do get compensation if they shouldn't have been locked up in the first place (e.g. if the evidence showed them to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt but they were later found to be innocent they get squat). In this case he should get compensation, I'm going to guess around 100,000 baht (his case is worth about 30,000 but this has media attention already so you can expect a show of face).

[wprime]

9 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

With confessions resulting in a 50% reduction in a sentence, and without the funds to pay off the authorities, it makes you wonder how many lower-status people are in Thai jails who may be innocent?

There was a case in the US where an aspiring athlete admitted to a rape he didn't commit to get a reduced sentence so this can't be seen as a Thai specific thing.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Banks_(American_football)

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, fasteddie said:

I hope the poor guy is suitably compensated but I won't hold my breath.

 

There are other similar cases on record, some just recently where the wrongly convicted persons were given compensation and there is a scale used to calculate the amount. 

[catman20]

24 minutes ago, smedly said:

Thai police have a very high success rate at solving crime and getting convictions

of the wrong people

[mtls2005]

There was a case in the US where an aspiring athlete admitted to a rape he didn't commit to get a reduced sentence so this can't be seen as a Thai specific thing.

 

I neither stated nor implied that this was unique to Thailand. As this is a Thai-centric forum, and this a Thai-news focused sub-forum, discussion typically focus on those things which apply to Thailand.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2017 by mtls2005

[jacko45k]

I wonder if a few Burmese guys can ever be as fortunate.

[darksidedog]

52 minutes ago, wprime said:

They do get compensation if they shouldn't have been locked up in the first place (e.g. if the evidence showed them to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt but they were later found to be innocent they get squat). In this case he should get compensation, I'm going to guess around 100,000 baht (his case is worth about 30,000 but this has media attention already so you can expect a show of face).

He is entitled to standard compensation at the rate of 500 Baht a day, which for just over 5 years is just over 900,000.

He can make an application for a higher amount, but it will take years to get anywhere.

Right now, I suspect that is the last thing on his mind, and he just wants to get on with his life. Good luck to him.

[yellowboat]

Hope he finds a life that keeps hims out of harms way. 

[williamgeorgeallen]

justice system is flawed on all levels in thailand. i was charged for not having a work permit despite having one, but with the wrong address in it. my lawyer said there was no point contesting the case, just wear the thousands of dollars of expenses and 'fees' and the 1 year suspended jail sentence. i would never risk doing anything in thailand that could result in going to court again. that includes, business, property or living with a thai partner.

[dieseldave1951]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

Thai police have a very high success rate at solving crime and getting convictions

solving crime!!! no getting convictions yes

[soalbundy]

You can't get 5 years of your life back no matter how much they pay in compensation, what a nightmare.

[jaltsc]

3 hours ago, fasteddie said:

I hope the poor guy is suitably compensated but I won't hold my breath.

Life is cheap in Thailand once it's involved with the justice/ legal system. At best, expect around 100,000 baht. Plus, he and his family will have to go through the charade of appearing to be grateful (6 wais should do it) that "justice prevails in Thailand".

[Emster23]

And the police and system that obstructed justice, including charge of dealing drugs in prison, what happens to them? Cue chorus of "Nothing!". How about locking them up for remainder of sentence.

This won't stop until those responsible are held to account. Follow up is "Why would 'justice' want it to stop?

[TheFishman1]

Thailand justice system is broken TIT

[chrisinth]

Compensation is one thing but as 'soalbundy' said in an earlier post, "You can't get 5 years of your life back no matter how much they pay.....".

 

I can't help wondering what exactly the investigation by the Justice Ministry uncovered; this was a guy that was not falsely imprisoned for one offence but for two different offences. Back to back.

 

IMO, he is either extremely unlucky or he has upset the wrong people somewhere along the line.
 

[sanukjim]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

Thai police have a very high success rate at solving crime and getting convictions

Do you mean like the two that were found guilty of murdering the farangs on the beach while letting the son of the club owner walk free ?

[kcpattaya]

Messrs...

[Reigntax]

3 hours ago, smedly said:

Thai police have a very high success rate at solving crime and getting convictions

 

Or at least finding a scapegoat, framing evidence to suit and hoodwinking the judges.

[mikebell]

1 hour ago, TheFishman1 said:

Thailand justice system is broken TIT

 The words 'Thailand' and 'justice' should never be used in the same sentence.

[xylophone]

2 minutes ago, mikebell said:

 The words 'Thailand' and 'justice' should never be used in the same sentence.

Thailand justice is an oxymoron.........a bit like military intelligence.

[Traveler19491]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Ballistic tests and gunpowder tests conducted by King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi then revealed results that contradicted witness statements and the defendants also passed lie-detector t

Here's a thought...how about doing forensics BEFORE going to court as opposed to after the poor guy has been locked up for years?

Edited May 26, 2017 by Traveler19491

[ianf]

Now it's time to free the Burma 2.

[darksidedog]

5 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

With confessions resulting in a 50% reduction in a sentence, and without the funds to pay off the authorities, it makes you wonder how many lower-status people are in Thai jails who may be innocent?

 

Or have unusually long sentences for relatively minor crimes, while they see higher-status people avoid the Thai "legal"/punishment system?

 

"Rule-by-Law" always ends so well.

Also a problem is the time it takes to come to trial, which can be much longer than the maximum sentence.

A few years back 7 Thai lads having a party were raided and 2 yabba found. After 48 days at court 6 pleaded guilty and were given time served.

The 7th, who was the only one to pass a urine test, pleaded not guilty. He was remanded back to jail for a further 9 months before he was subsequently found not guilty and released. He did not want a criminal record for something he hadn't done, but many will take plead guilty just to get out quicker, which is really appalling.

[elgordo38]

5 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

With confessions resulting in a 50% reduction in a sentence, and without the funds to pay off the authorities, it makes you wonder how many lower-status people are in Thai jails who may be innocent?

 

Or have unusually long sentences for relatively minor crimes, while they see higher-status people avoid the Thai "legal"/punishment system?

 

"Rule-by-Law" always ends so well.

Rule by law or rule by discount. If arrested and guilty I guess one could ask if the BIB have any "promotions"