The trial against the Spanish Daniel Sancho, accused of the premeditated murder of the Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, concluded this Thursday in Thailand with a plea from the accused after a process of about a month.
The last hearing of the trial against Sancho concluded this Thursday around 11:00 local time (04:00 GMT) in the Provincial Court of Samui (southern Thailand), one day before the date initially scheduled for the end of the process, which has been held behind closed doors since last April 9.
The judge, whose identity is confidential, set the date for reading the full sentence for August 29 at 10 in the morning, as confirmed by EFE.
Although initially the magistrate gave one month for the parties to present final written arguments from now on, the defense asked to extend that period to two months because they have to translate it, which the judge authorized and delayed the reading of the sentence.
During today’s hearing, Sancho made a final argument of about 45 minutes, which he had requested himself.
“The accused stated that the incident occurred in self-defense, without intention, and expressed his regret,” Sancho’s lawyer, Apichart Srinual, said as he left the court.
“He felt threatened and was forced to protect himself,” added the lawyer, who declared himself “satisfied” with the process.
The co-prosecution lawyer, Metapon Suwancharern, who represents Arrieta’s family in Thailand, shared his satisfaction with the conduct of the trial, something on which all parties agreed, and reported that the court asked Sancho to “say only what what I would like to add”, regardless of his version of the events.
“(Then) He spoke above all about the issue of repentance,” stressed the co-accusation lawyer.
“There was a feeling of regret for causing someone’s death (…) Also that he should not have acted as he did,” the lawyer added, stating that “we are not pursuing this case to impose excessive punishment on anyone.”
The last session was held after Sancho finished testifying the day before, especially in Spanish but also in English, with difficulties in translating into Thai, and after answering questions from the defense and the Prosecutor’s Office in two consecutive hearings.
The prosecutor, Jeerawat Sawatdichai, said today that he was “quite satisfied” and said that “now it is up to the judge to hand down the sentence.”
“If the case is acquitted, I will certainly appeal it,” he added.
The trial, which was held amid enormous media attention and included a total of twelve sessions and around 35 witnesses, with only a dozen from the defense, was attended by Sancho’s father, the actor Rodolfo. Sancho, and the mother of the accused, investment analyst Silvia Bronchalo.
Likewise, representatives of the Spanish Embassy in Thailand attended the hearings, a common protocol when dealing with a compatriot accused of a crime that can be punished with up to the death penalty, although the Asian country hardly applies it.
The Prosecutor’s Office has tried to demonstrate during the trial that Sancho premeditatedly murdered Arrieta on August 2 on the tourist island of Phangan, near Samui, where both had met that day.
The Spaniard is also accused of hiding the body, due to the dismemberment of Arrieta, whose remains were scattered in various places on the island, including the sea, and of destroying other people’s documentation, due to the Colombian’s passport.
Sancho pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder, the crime that carries the maximum penalty, and to the destruction of other people’s documentation during the first day of the trial, when he only accepted the charge of hiding the body.
The defense has alleged that Sancho, who has had a very active role in the trial, acted in self-defense after an attempted rape by Arrieta and that the death of the Colombian surgeon in the Spaniard’s villa in Phangan was due to an accident. during a fight.
Sancho has been in provisional detention since August 7 in Samui prison, from which he has traveled in a police van to attend the trial and where he will be admitted again this Thursday.
