Killer put to death

A 26-year-old convicted killer was executed by lethal injection Monday, the seventh person to be put to death since the method was introduced and the first since 2009, Corrections Department chief Pol Col Naras Savestanan said.

Theerasak Longji, 26, was convicted for the brutal killing of a 17-year-old boy in Trang, He was 19 at the time of the murder. 

He stabbed his victim 24 times in a frenzied attack on July 17, 2012, before making off with his mobile phone and money. The perpetrator reportedly knew the victim, and was motivated by jealousy over a girl.

Theerasak was convicted of the crime and his conviction was upheld by the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court.

The death sentence was carried out in line with regulations and the Criminal Code, Pol Col Naras said.

Theerasak was the seventh convict to be executed by lethal injection since it was introduced in 2003, replacing execution by firing squad.

Pol Col Naras said 326 convicts have now been put to death since modern-day executions were introduced in 1935.

A total of 319 people faced a firing squad which was officially abolished on Dec 11, 2003.

The first convict to receive a lethal injection came the next day.

Theerasak's execution was the first death sentence to be carried out in Thailand since August, 2009, when two drug traffickers were executed simultaneously.