Klong Toey drug kingpin Sayam Sapworasit, alias Phap 70 Rai, shed tears yesterday after being sentenced in the Criminal Court to life imprisonment on drug charges.

The court found Sayam, otherwise known as Suphap Sidaeng or Phap 70 Rai, 34, guilty of methamphetamine trade and drugs laws violations. It jailed him for life for conspiring with Suchart Parnthachote, sentenced earlier to 33 years and four months in jail for selling drugs.

After hearing the verdict, Sayam held his mother Chalor Sidaeng and burst into tears, before corrections officials escorted him from the court. His younger sister Kaewta Sidaeng shouted outside the courtroom that her brother was innocent, asking why the real culprits remained at large.

Sayam's lawyer Bancha Chaijam said he would ask for two months to study the verdict before lodging an appeal.

According to the prosecution, Sayam conspired with Suchart and various other suspects to sell 12,000 speed pills to a customer in January 1998.

He sent the drugs to Suchart to sell to drug dealer Udon Mabangkhru, who was arrested and convicted by the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court.

He also provided 10,600 speed pills in June 2000 to Suchart, Chamnan Raruaysong and Somsak Sae Lim, all of whom were later arrested and jailed. Sayam was arrested last year.

The court said yesterday there was no evidence to support Sayam's claim that he was in conflict with police and that they arrested him only because they wanted the reward money.

Suchart, who was arrested with 10,600 speed pills, told the court that Sayam started selling heroin when he was 12 and turned to selling speed pills in 1995.

News source : www.bangkokpost.com     Friday 10 September 2004

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