Koh Samui, Thailand, Aug 29 (EFE).- Spanish chef Daniel Sancho was sentenced to life imprisonment Thursday after being found guilty by a Thai judge of the premeditated murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta among other crimes on a tourist island.
The judge of the Samui Provincial Court said the sentence had been reduced from the death penalty to life imprisonment due to Sancho’s collaboration with the investigation.
Along with the first charge, the chef was found guilty of the destruction of other people’s documents and the concealment of a body following the August 2023 incident on the island of Phangan.
Sancho had only pleaded guilty to concealing Arrieta’s body, whose remains were found in several places on the island, including at sea.
Prosecutor Jeerawat Sawatdichai told EFE after leaving the court that he was «satisfied» because Sancho had been convicted on the three charges he presented during the trial, held in April and May in the same court.
The judge also sentenced Sancho, who was in the courtroom, to pay a compensation to Arrieta’s family of THB4 million (almost $119,000.)
This is a much lower sum than the THB30 million the family’s lawyers in Thailand had requested during the trial.
«The court decided what it deemed appropriate (…) The family has thus received justice,» co-prosecution lawyer Butsakorn Kaewleeled told the media upon leaving the court. He appeared with lawyer Nattha «Lak» Jongratwanin on behalf of Arrieta’s family in Thailand.
Arrieta’s parents, Leovaldo Jose Arrieta and Ana Marcela Arteaga, did not travel to Thailand.
«We have to talk to the family again to see if they are satisfied with the amount (…) If not, they also have the right to appeal,» Kaewleeled said.
The payment of compensation is necessary for Sancho to be able to request a transfer to Spain, which will only be possible if he serves at least four years of his sentence in Thailand.
During the reading, the judge spoke of the possibility of filing two appeals, one before the Court of Appeal and another later to the Supreme Court.
Sancho, 30, was at the hearing accompanied by his father and mother, Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho and investment analyst Silvia Bronchalo respectively, as well as Apichart Srinual, the Thai public defender who represented him in the country.
Along with Rodolfo Sancho’s Legal Advisor Alice Keartjareanlap also attended the hearing.
Security measures and access to the courtroom were more restrictive Thursday than during the trial, in which Sancho had argued that Arrieta’s death was due to an accident during a fight. Sancho and Arrieta had met in Phangan on Aug. 2, 2024, the day of the incident. EFE
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