Five prisoners were executed at Bang Kwang Maxium Security...

Five prisoners were executed at Bang Kwang Maxium Security Prison in Thailand.
The five shot dead were two murderers - Thawin Munsarn, 36, and Surakij Limcharoenwonge, 47 - and three drug traffickers - Jai Sangoh, 38, Kulchanok Intesaraj, 24, and Netnoi Sangkad, 36.
Thawin was convicted for the premeditated murder of his in-laws on February 15, 1999.
Yos Uaychai, Thawin's father-in-law, was found dead at his home, along with two of his sons. His wife and daughter, who was Thawin's wife, were seriously injured after having their throats slashed.
Surakij was found guilty of shooting dead Charnarong Pitayakul and his wife, Yadroong, before burning the bodies on March 15, 1993. The murder was sparked by a conflict over the trafficking of women to Japan.
The three drug traffickers, all hilltribe members, were arrested in possession of a total of 560,000 amphetamine pills on December 8, 1997.
These were the first executions in Thailand in 2002.
Final meals and Buddhist prayers were provided to the five felons.
Eighteen inmates - 11 of them men and seven women - were executed last year on charges of drug trafficking or murder, Corrections Department director-general Siwa Sangmanee said.
He claimed that executions should help discourage trading in illicit drugs. "Some drug traders may think they can escape the hand of the law, but one day it will be their turn," Siwa said.