Lethal injection for two Ya Ba dealers

They were the second set of convicts to be given lethal injections since this form of execution replaced firing squads six years ago.

Bundit and Jirawat were arrested on March 29, 2001 for possessing 114,219 methamphet-amine pills. They were given death terms after being convicted of drug trafficking.

The Narcotics Control Board also seized 73 of their assets, with a combined value of Bt41.7 million.

They had been held at Bang Kwang Prison while petitioning for a royal pardon.

Corrections officials only told Bundit and Jirawat at around 3.30pm yesterday they were not granted a pardon.

Both were then offered a last meal: a tray with apple, fried asparagus with shrimp and some other food.

However, they could not eat.

They requested just water and cigarettes.

Shortly later, they were allowed about an hour to write a will or call their loved ones.

Jirawat called his mother, who had met him earlier in the day during a visit.

He told her that he was going to be executed and asked her not to cry. He then spoke to his daughter, asking her to be a good girl. "Love you" was his last words to his daughter.

In his will, Jirawat gave all his personal belongings at the prison including photo albums to his mother.

Bundit called his wife to say a last goodbye. He also spoke to his children but without telling them what would happen to him.

In his will, Bundit said his assets should be given to his elder sister.

Monks later gave them the a final sermon. They were then brought to pay respect at a shrine and three sacred Bodhi trees in front of the execution zone.

Both convicts remained shackled inside the injection chamber when they lay down on beds covered with white cloth. Their arms were stretched out, with three syringes beside each man.

The first contained a soporific drug, the second had a muscle relaxant drug, while the third contained a "heart stopper".

The injection process took about 25 minutes, after which a doctor, a provincial governor or his representative, a warden, a police superintendent and a representative from the Corrections Department checked whether the convicts were dead.

Relatives of the pair will be able to claim their bodies for religious rites today.

Currently, there are 832 convicts on death row. Some 127 of them have had their final court ruling, meaning there is no further avenue for appeal.