A Thai appeal court quashed death sentences against...

A Thai appeal court quashed death sentences against two men from hill tribes for the murder of an Australian tourist and the rape of his girlfriend. One of the men was released after the verdict by the Appeal Court while the other was still being held in custody, said Anan Teerachit, a prosecutor in the northern province of Chiang Mai. Press reports said the victims were camping in an isolated part of a national park in Chiang Mai, near the border with Myanmar, in 2000 when they were attacked. The two men, Chingyong Sae Yang and Inthorn Sae Jon, were convicted two years ago of shooting and killing the 23-year-old man and raping his girlfriend, 25. However, local officials claimed the two men were five kilometres away at a village meeting at the time of the attack. "The Appeal Court verdict has been read in Chiang Mai and it overruled the provincial court's death sentences," Anan said.