SI SA KET: The Court of Appeal Region 3 has upheld the death sentence on an army captain for killing a senior education official known as "Director Oi" and concealing her body in 2017.
The ruling was read out on Tuesday in a video conference with Capt Supachai Phaso, alias Capt Neng, who is being detained at Bang Kwang Central Prison. The sentence hearing was attended by friends and family of the victim, Juthaporn Oun-on.
Capt Supachai was convicted in March last year of murdering Juthaporn, the director of the education office attached to the tambon Cham administration in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district.
DNA extracted from a skull found in a forest in Nam Yuen district of Ubon Ratchathani three months later proved a match with Juthaporn. The skull was among other human remains discovered in the forest.
She went missing on July 3, 2017 shortly after being seen with Capt Supachai.
Police looked for Capt Supachai after learning he had been in a relationship with Juthaporn and had argued with her over 500,000 baht he owed her. It was later revealed that she had threatened to report the matter to his superior.
After looking into their mobile phone records, police found that the pair had gone to Nam Yuen district.
On Aug 10, 2017, police found Juthaporn’s Toyota Vios in a garage in Ubon Ratchathani's Muang district. Capt Supachai claimed Juthaporn had sold it because she was in financial trouble but police suspected he had falsified documents and pocketed the money.
In October, a skull, bones and other items were found in the "Emerald Triangle" forest near the 2305th Paramilitary Ranger base in Ubon Ratchathani’s Nam Yuen district. The remains and other items were later identified as belonging to Juthaporn.
Supachai, then a captain attached with the 6th Infantry Regiment in Ubon Ratchathani, was arrested and charged by police in October, 2017 after DNA extracted from the skull proved a match with Juthaporn’s.
On March 14 last year, the Kantharalak Provincial Court sentenced Supachai to death after finding him guilty of murdering Juthaporn. The defendant appealed the ruling.
The Court of Appeal Region 3 upheld the lower court's ruling
Boonlert Oun-on, the victim's father, said on Tuesday he was satisfied with the ruling.
Speaking before the Appeal Court's ruling, Mrs Laem Oun-on, 65, the vicitm's mother, said she and her relatives wanted the court to uphold the death sentence.
The parents and relatives of Juthaporn Oun-on, or 'Director Oi'' arrive at the Kantharalak Provincial Court in Si Sa Ket to hear a ruling by the Court of Appeal Region 3 on Tuesday. (Photo: Sermpong Thongsamrit)
