A young Chinese man has been sentenced to 25 years and six months in prison for the murder of a 70-year-old Thai garment vendor who was strangled in a Bangkok condominium in February this year.
Wu Zhouming, 28, was on Thursday taken from the Bangkok Remand Prison to the Criminal Court to hear the ruling.
Prosecutors earlier indicted Wu for murdering Araya Sapsuwan and stealing her valuables.
The defendant had strangled Araya to death at her condominium room on Soi Phahol Yothin 52 in Sai Mai district, Bangkok, on Feb 11. He then fled with the victim’s cash and several items worth about 95,000 baht.
He was later arrested by immigration police at a pier in Surat Thani as he was about to get on a boat to Koh Samui in this southern province. He confessed to all charges during the police interrogation.
A son of the victim testified that his mother had earlier told him that the defendant had contacted her to borrow 100,000 baht. The appointment was made at her condominium room.
On the night of Feb 11, he received a phone call from his father that his mother had not yet returned home. He then looked for her and later went to the condominium, where he found her car parked there. He went to the room and found it was locked. He then used a flashlight to look inside through the louvre and found his mother lying on the bed.
After entering the room, he found his mother was already dead. There were bruises around her neck. Several valuables were missing.
Police handling the case checked her mobile phone recordsn and found she had contacted the Chinese man several times before the murder.
Footage of CCTVs showed that the victim and the defendant entering the room before the defendant went out alone.
The Criminal Court examined evidence and witness testimonies and found the defendant guilty of murdering the woman.
The court initially sentenced him to death for the murder and to one year in prison for robbery. The sentence was later commuted to 25 years and six months in prison as he confessed to the charges.
The court also ordered him to pay 1 million baht to the victim’s son.
Thai media earlier reported Wu had admitted during the arrest that he had known the victim via garment business deals. Before the murder, he tried to borrow 100,000 baht from her by promising 120,000 baht in return, but she refused. A quarrel followed and he strangled her in a fit of rage.
He told police that he did not intend to take her life, but only wanted her to become unconscious so that he could take her valuables.