THAILAND: DEATH SENTENCE AWARED TO PAKISTANI NATIONAL COMMUTED

Thailand's Criminal Court handed down the death sentence to Mohammed Arif, 34, a Pakistani national, found guilty of murdering Priyanun Thongnakthae in a Bangkok Hotel on May 8, 2006. The sentence was later commuted into life imprisonment upon the defendant's confession to the crime. The court also ordered Arif to pay compensation of Bt2,210,000 (US$62,800) to the parents of the victim. She was an English language teacher at a school in the North Eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani. On the day she was killed she went to Bangkok to meet Mr. Arif in person after they had met and chatted on the Internet. The man used a pillow to suffocate her. Her body was cut into pieces and put in four suitcases before he disposed of them.