The Ratchada Criminal Court at first sentenced 35-year-old Mohammad Arif to death, but reduced the punishment because his confession had proved "useful".

The court also ordered Arif to pay Bt2 million in compensation, Bt150,000 for funeral expenses, and Bt30,000 for valuables he stole from her to the parents of Dissanee Thongnarkthae, an English-language teacher from Ubon Ratchathani. Such court-ordered payments to the victim's family are subject to 7.5 per cent interest per year until full payment is made.

According to the lawsuit, on May 7 last year, Dissanee flew from Ubon Ratchathani to Bangkok to meet Arif - who had told her he was "a handsome Spanish man" - in the flesh after they had been chatting over the Internet since April.

It said the two met at Racha Palace Hotel, where Arif then killed Dissanee, dismembered her and put the body parts in travel bags to be dumped elsewhere before leaving with the victim's valuables.

On the night of May 8, a travel bag with Dissanee's torso and head was found in roadside bushes along Soi Ramkhamhaeng 24. Witnesses said the bag was dumped by a tall foreigner. The discovery was aired on Jor Sor 100 traffic radio station, leading to taxi driver Boonyuen Sriprasong, who had given Arif a ride, tipping police off to Arif's whereabouts. The rest of the body parts, stuffed in a suitcase, were found in a canal later on.

Following his arrest Arif led police to the hotel room, where they found a plastic toy pistol, three knives, a rope, a bloodstained bed sheet, as well as Dissanee's camera and ring. Police then took Arif to his apartment in the Huai Kwang area, where they found blood-soaked pants.

Arif at first denied the charges but later confessed to killing Dissanee and disposing of her body parts in Klong Nam Kaew.

He said they had chatted on the Internet and phone before agreeing to meet at Don Muang Airport. Arif promised to pay for her travel expenses. When she arrived on May 7, they had a meal, shopped and then returned to the hotel room and had sex. Dissanee then demanded money for the plane ticket and asked him to take her to Pattaya, which he refused, leading to a heated argument.

He said he then smothered her with a pillow, strangled her, and went out to buy knives and travel bags to dismember her body.

Claiming to have acted out of "impulsive rage", Arif asked the court for a lighter sentence and to reduce the Bt5.3 million compensation sought by the victim' family.

The court said the defendant's claim that he killed Dissanee following a heated argument was unconvincing because a hotel maid said she did not hear a fight but only the television.

Kesinee Tangkhiew

The Nation