Airman gets life term, then bail
A senior Air Force officer was yesterday handed a life sentence and his wife a five-year jail term for assisting him in brutally beating and then setting fire to a young Burmese housemaid five years ago.
The Uthai Thani Court verdict also seized a pickup truck belonging to Group Captain Suchart Akkhawibool, which he had used to transport the victim - known only as "Masu" - and dump her by the roadside in Muang district on a July night in 2002.The 18-year-old was found in a badly burned state and later sent to a hospital but she succumbed to "severe burn trauma" a few days later. Speaking to police before she died, she said Suchart and wife Yuwadee had severely beaten her and earlier doused her with acid after accusing her of stealing valuables. Yuwadee was convicted for assisting Suchart in confining and abusing Masu. Apart from murder, Suchart was also convicted of hiring an unregistered immigrant and violation of immigration regulations. The verdict said both defendants chained the victim to a bedpost and Suchart repeatedly battered her with a pistol and other objects, apart from punching and stamping on her after the valuables went missing. The housemaid suffered the ordeal in captivity for 16 days before Suchart doused her with fuel and set her on fire. The lawyer of the convicted couple said he would appeal against the verdict. Both were released on bail. A number of Thai workers who allegedly assisted them in the crime are still on the run. Suchart and his wife surrendered to police a few days after the victim died and he was later temporarily suspended from the Air Force after criminal charges were filed.
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