THE Chon Buri Supreme Court today (June 17) granted a reprieve from a jail term of three years and four months to an engineer who had shot dead a youth in a row over double parking in February 2017, Sanook.com, Siam Rath and Thai Rath newspapers said.
The defendant, Mr. Suthep Phochonsomboon, 56, or Uncle Engineer, used his firearm to kill Mr. Nawapol Puengphai, or Pound, 17, after the latter double parked his van next to the defendant’s vehicle and refused to move it to allow him to pull out. The incident took place at Krok Yai intersection, Ang Sila sub-district, Chon Buri district.
The defendant had pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm in public but rejected the charge of intentionally killing another person, citing self defence.
The Court of First Instance had sentenced Suthep to ten-year imprisonment and 2,000 baht fine, with the defendant ordered to pay 340,000 baht compensation plus 7.5% interest per annum from the date of the filing of the request.
The Appeals Court had upheld this sentence.
However the Chon Buri Supreme Court today reviewed the case and in its ruling said the deceased had parked his van and blocked the defendant’s way and therefore is partly at fault with a reprieve of the sentence being more beneficial to the society rather than imprisonment.
The Supreme Court sentenced Suthep to five years in jail for unreasonable self defence but this was reduced to three years and four months, combined with the penalty for carrying a firearm in public, and a fine of 2,000 baht. A reprieve was given for three years and the defendant was placed on a two-year probation having to report to officials every three months. The defendant was also ordered to undergo a mood management course on using vehicles and perform public service for 30 hours.
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The defendant was granted a reprieve by Chon Buri Supreme Court. Photo: Sanook.com
