Samui prosecutor’s office report accuses Spaniard Sancho of premeditated murder

Bangkok, Oct 25 (EFE).- The Prosecutor’s Office on the Thai island of Koh Samui on Wednesday delivered to court its report in which it accused Spaniard Daniel Sancho of premeditated murder and concealment of a body, the same charges established by police.

The report was delivered to the Samui court, as confirmed to EFE by sources from the Prosecutor’s Office, which had a deadline of Oct. 29.

The court told EFE that the Prosecutor’s Office maintains the same charges against Sancho of premeditated murder and the concealment of the body of Colombian Edwin Arrieta as the police had previously established in its own investigation.

The charges will be read to Sancho in a closed-door hearing at the court on Thursday where he will be expected to enter a plea.

In the event that Sancho has not hired a private lawyer, he will be assigned one, according to the court.

The 29-year-old has not had a lawyer in Thailand – where he can only be defended by a Thai citizen – since Sep. 7, after his famous actor father Rodolfo Sancho dispensed with the services of Thai lawyer Anan Chuayprabat due to “discrepancies in the defense.”

The court must now assign a judge to the case and establish the calendar for the trial, the start date of which has not been announced.

Sancho has been in pretrial detention in Samui prison since Aug. 7, two days after he was arrested on neighboring Koh Phangan where he confessed to the murder and dismemberment of the Colombian surgeon.

Thailand’s Penal Code provides for the death penalty for crimes such as premeditated murder, but if handed down, this is usually later commuted to life imprisonment.

On the other hand, the confession and cooperation of the accused could help to reduce the sentence.

The police delivered its report to the Prosecutor’s Office on Oct. 3, after two months of investigating the crime, which took place on Aug. 2 on Koh Phangan. EFE

igx-raa-pav/tw