THAILAND: EX-MP RECEIVES DEATH SENTENCE FOR MASTERMINDING MURDER

September 24, 2019:

The Khon Kaen Provincial Court on 24 September 2019 sentenced Nawat Tocharoensuk, the former Khon Kaen MP of the Pheu Thai Party, to death for being the mastermind behind the 2013 murder of Suchart Kotthum, the former chief administrator of Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Organisation.
The court found Nawat guilty of having hired killers to eliminate Suchart, sentencing him to death and also ordered him to pay Bt300,000 as compensation for funeral expense to the victim's family, according to a source at the court.
After Nawat was taken to a detention cell, his legal team proceeded to apply for his release on bail while pending an appeal to fight the conviction at a higher court, the source said.
The murder took place on May 3, 2013 with a gunman shoting dead Suchart in front of his home in Tambon Nai Muang of Muang Khon Kaen.