Samui killers get death sentence

SURAT THANI: Wichai “Loh” Somkhaoyai, 24, and Bualoi Kosit, 23, the two men who confessed to raping and murdering 21-year-old Welsh student Katherine Horton on Koh Samui on the night of January 1, have been sentenced to death by the Surat Thani Provincial Court.

At an earlier hearing on January 13, both pleaded guilty to rape-murder charges under sections 276 and 277 of the Thai Penal Code, which stipulate either life imprisonment or the death penalty for such offenses.

Pol Maj Gen Santhan Chayanont, Deputy Commissioner of Police Region 8, told the Gazette that the sentences were delivered by the court at 9:30 this morning.

“The court decided that both should face execution. However, they can apply to the Appeals Court for a lighter sentence.”

Anyone sentenced to death in Thailand automatically appears before the Appeals Court for reconsideration of sentence. No date has yet been set for this hearing.

Meanwhile, the two remain locked up in Surat Thani Provincial Prison.