ID :
16469
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 16:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/16469
The shortlink copeid
Pakistani man gets life for murder of Thai teacher
BANGKOK, Aug 20 (TNA) - Thailand's Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's life sentence handed down to a Pakistani man for murdering a Thai female teacher whom he met on an online Internet chat service, and then dismembering her body in 2006.
In a verdict read out by the judge in court, Mohammad Arif was found guilty of intentionally killing of Dissanee Thongnakthae, an Englishteacher, at a Bangkok hotel on May 8, 2006.
Ms. Dissanee, a teacher at a school in Ubon Ratchathani, a province in the northeast, came to Bangkok on May 7 to meet Mr. Arif in person after they had chatted on the Internet. She reportedly had a serious quarrel with him as he had misrepresented himself to her regarding his true identity on the Internet and refused to pay for her return tickets as he had earlierpromised.
According to police and court reports, Mr. Arif stabbed the Thai teacher, killing her in anger, and then dismembered her body and attempted todispose of body parts in several places.
The court said there was no substantial evidence to substantiate the defendant's claim that his Thai cyber-mate had insulted his religion 'forcing him to kill her in anger' and that he did not steal any of herbelongings.
The court judges refused to commute the sentence to 25-year imprisonmentas earlier appealed, but upheld the lower court verdict.
The Criminal Court initially sentenced Mr. Arif to death, but commuted thepunishment to life imprisonment because he confessed to the murder.
The court also ordered Mr. Arif to pay to the parents of the victim Bt 2 million (about US$59,000) in compensation, Bt150,000 (about $4,500) for funeral expenses, and Bt30,000 (about $900) for the valuables he stolefrom the victim after he killed her.
In a verdict read out by the judge in court, Mohammad Arif was found guilty of intentionally killing of Dissanee Thongnakthae, an Englishteacher, at a Bangkok hotel on May 8, 2006.
Ms. Dissanee, a teacher at a school in Ubon Ratchathani, a province in the northeast, came to Bangkok on May 7 to meet Mr. Arif in person after they had chatted on the Internet. She reportedly had a serious quarrel with him as he had misrepresented himself to her regarding his true identity on the Internet and refused to pay for her return tickets as he had earlierpromised.
According to police and court reports, Mr. Arif stabbed the Thai teacher, killing her in anger, and then dismembered her body and attempted todispose of body parts in several places.
The court said there was no substantial evidence to substantiate the defendant's claim that his Thai cyber-mate had insulted his religion 'forcing him to kill her in anger' and that he did not steal any of herbelongings.
The court judges refused to commute the sentence to 25-year imprisonmentas earlier appealed, but upheld the lower court verdict.
The Criminal Court initially sentenced Mr. Arif to death, but commuted thepunishment to life imprisonment because he confessed to the murder.
The court also ordered Mr. Arif to pay to the parents of the victim Bt 2 million (about US$59,000) in compensation, Bt150,000 (about $4,500) for funeral expenses, and Bt30,000 (about $900) for the valuables he stolefrom the victim after he killed her.
