The Norwegian in his 50s who is accused of killing a British man in Phuket, Thailand, can avoid jail if his lawyers agree with the victim’s relatives.
“Yes, according to Thai law, it is possible to pay the offender’s family a sum of money that they accept, and in this way one will be able to close the case with a settlement,” the man’s Norwegian lawyer Sulman Hussain told TV 2.
The Norwegian and his partner went on vacation to Phuket in August. Two days before they went home, he got into an argument with the Briton who lived in a neighbouring room in the hotel. The Norwegian has admitted that during the altercation he strangled the man in his 30s, but says it happened in self defence.
In recent days, Hussain has been in Thailand to find out more about what really happened. Although his client believes he acted in self-defence, there is no doubt that he killed the Briton.
The Norwegian, who has been released on bail of 60,000 kroner, has escaped from criminal prosecution because he is afraid to go to prison in Thailand. At the same time, his lawyers are working to pay him out of the case.
The Norwegian’s Thai lawyer Thanyawat Suwankumnoet suggests that a sum of 2 million baht, around NOK 600,000, may be applicable.
“If the family agrees to such a sum, he can go free,” he says.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today