The Appeals Court yesterday ruled that Pol Lt-General Chalor Kerdthet deserved the death penalty and not life imprisonment for orchestrating the abduction and pre-meditated murder of a jeweller's wife and their only son.

Chalor, who was once a police commissioner, frowned throughout the verdict reading, but showed no emotion when the death sentence was handed down.

His wife was not present in the courtroom but a few of his former subordinates showed up to offer moral support.

The case started in 1994 when Darawadi Srithanakhan and her son Seri were killed by Chalor's men.

Chalor was put in charge of finding jewellery items that were stolen by a Thai worker from the palace of a Saudi Arabian prince in 1989. Darawadi's husband Santi was a jeweller whom Chalor had earlier snatched to try to pry information from him on where the Saudi heritage pieces were hidden.

When Darawadi and her son went missing, Santi rushed to ask Chalor for help.

He was told that his wife and son might have been detained.

Santi was contacted by the kidnappers, who demanded Bt2.5 million. Despite paying the ransom, he never saw his wife and son alive again.

A hospital in Saraburi informed him that they were dead.

Santi lodged a complaint and became a co-plaintiff in the case against Chalor and eight accomplices.

The court found eight of the suspects including Chalor guilty of various charges while the ninth defendant was cleared.

Chalor was convicted for abetting the abductions and pre-meditated murders of the jeweller's wife and son. Only Chalor was sentenced to death.

The Appeals Court upheld the lower court sentences for the other convicts in the case - the three murderers were given life sentences.

Chalor has also been convicted in a separate case involving multiple abductions of the jeweller.

Kesinee Taengkhiew

The Nation