18/01/2006

Thai fishermen sentenced to death

Two Thai fishermen have been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 21-year-old British student Katharine Horton.

Bualoi Posit, 23, and Wichai Somkhaoyai, 24, who had pleaded guilty to the charges against them at the court in Surat Thani in southern Thailand, face death by lethal injection.

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had previously called for the maximum penalty, as the high-profile case, which has been fast-tracked through the Thai court system, had damaged the country's image abroad.

In a statement, the murdered student's family thanked the Royal Thai Police for their "diligent and speedy" work in apprehending the killers. They said it had "helped us seek an end to the uncertainties of this tragedy."

The 21-year-old student had last been seen walking along the beach, as she left a part of friends to use her mobile phone to call her mother.

During the trial in Surat Thani it emerged that Miss Horton had been beaten, raped and left for dead. A jet skier discovered Miss Horton's body in the sea off Koh Samui on January 2. DNA evidence had linked the two to the crime.

Sentencing in the trail of the two fishermen, which concluded on Friday, was deferred until today.

Summing up the trial Judge said that crime had "terrified people" and ruled that in order to discourage others from committing similar crimes he had sentenced the two accused to death.

Yesterday, the funeral service for Katherine Horton was held in St Isan's Church in Llanishen, Cardiff.

(SP/GB)

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