BANGKOK, Thailand (25 Nov 2006) -- Two Thai fishermen convicted of raping and murdering a 21-year-old British tourist on New Year's Day have had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment, their lawyer said today. Bualoy Kothisit, 23, and Wichai Sonkhaoyai, 24, were sentenced to death after a speedy trial in January, but they won a reprieve this month after an appeal. "The court commuted their death sentences on the ground that they had voluntarily confessed their crime," lawyer Prompatchara Namuang said. But he said prosecutors could challenge the court's decision and bring the case to the Supreme Court by December 7. The two were found guilty of raping and killing Katherine Horton on the southern resort island of Samui on January 1, in a case that rocked Thailand's tourism industry as it was rebuilding from the 2004 tsunami. After drinking and watching pornography, the two men found Ms Horton walking down the beach alone as she talked to her mother in Britain on a cellphone. They raped her and beat her with a beach umbrella before dumping her body at sea. The victim's mother, Elizabeth, had called for the pair to spend the rest of their lives in jail, saying her daughter would not have believed capital punishment an appropriate sentence. International media attention had prompted then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to call for the "harshest possible punishment" for the men, saying they had damaged Thailand's image and its tourism industry. | | Bualoy Kothisit, 23, and Wichai Sonkhaoyai, 24, were found guilty of raping and killing Katherine Horton, 21, on Koh Samui. Mr Thaksin was ousted in a bloodless coup on September 19. While Thailand bills itself as the "Land of Smiles" with sunny beaches, there are regular incidents of foreigners involved in sexual assaults, drug offences and sometimes rape or murder. CDNN Related News THAILAND - Another tourist raped at Thailand resort islandTHAILAND - Increasing violence against tourists threatens tourism industryTHAILAND - Thai killers get death sentence for murdering tourist |
