The Thonburi Criminal Court on Monday sentenced alleged killer Apichai Ongwisit, alias "Ice Metal Casket", to 25 years in jail with a fine of 750,000 baht for possession of illegal drugs.
The sentence in this case is to be added to an 11 year prison sentence in a related case, also handed down by the Thonburi Criminal Court. A third case, of concealing a body, is still awaiting judgement.
The prosecutor told the court that on the night of Jan 1-14, 2020, Apichai had in his possession 2,200 methamphetamine mills and a bag containing 267.869 grammes of methamphetamine flakes with intent to sell.
Apichai confessed to the charge.
Based on his confession and statements from police, the court sentenced him to 25 years imprisonment and a 750,000 baht fine.
On Dec 30 last year, the Thonburi Criminal Court sentenced Apichai to 11 years and four months for rape involving use of a firearm.
In this case, the court found that Apichai, on the night of Dec 23, 2019 used a handgun to force a woman to go his house in Soi Phetkasem 47 in Bang Khae area, where he raped her. Apichai initially denied the charges, but later reversed his statement and pleaded guilty.
There is still another case against Apichai before the Thonburi Criminal Court.
The case involves the concealment of a dead woman's body.
In this case, Apichai, a wealthy property heir, was arrested in January last year for alleged involvement in the death of a 22-year-old woman, Warinthorn Chaiyachet, by police acting on information from a drug suspect.
The suspect alleged Apichai hit the woman with a wooden stick and stuffed her inside a metal casket for two days. She died of suffocation. The victim's body was put in a large plastic bag and buried in the back garden.
Police search Apichai's home and found the body of Warinthorn, leading to a forensic search of the property.
On Jan 16, 2020, a team of divers retrieved 28 bits of human rib and hair from a pond, believed to belong to a girl aged 17-18. The next day, police found another 288 pieces of human bone, wrapped up and weighed down with dumbbells, in the same pond. On Jan 23, at least 30 more human bone fragments were discovered, this time in a metal casket.
Police believed the bones were the remains of at least two other victims.
Apichai, whose nickname was "Ice", was charged with concealment of Warinthorn's body, illegal possession of a gun and possession of 2,200 methamphetamine pills found in his home.
The case received wide publicity, and Apichai was dubbed "Ice Metal Casket".