The Supreme Court upheld a life imprisonment sentence and a 5 million baht fine for a member of the "Lao Ta" drug gang after she filed a petition seeking a reduced penalty.
At courtroom 609 of the Criminal Court at 09:30 on 2 Dec 2025 GMT+7, the Supreme Court heard case number Ayor.5907/2016. The Narcotics Division 10 prosecutor filed charges against Mr. Lao Ta Saenli, his wife Mrs. Asa Ma Saenli (defendant 2), Mrs. Rapeekarn or Kai Popphatlak (defendant 3), Mr. Wijarn Saenli, their son and former village headman of Tha Ton Subdistrict, Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai Province (defendant 4), and Mr. Baramee Baramee Kueakul, their son with a different surname (defendant 5). All defendants are from Chiang Mai and are charged with conspiring and jointly selling over 900 grams of methamphetamine, a Category 1 narcotic, without authorization, as well as violating the Firearms and Ammunition Act B.E.2490 (1947).
The prosecutor stated that between 20 Sept and Oct 2016, defendants 1 to 3—Mr. Lao Ta, Mrs. Asa Ma, and Mrs. Rapeekarn—possessed one bag of methamphetamine weighing over 900 grams, which they sold to an undercover agent for 550,000 baht. Mr. Lao Ta, defendant 1, negotiated the drug sale.
At trial, the court sentenced defendant 1 to life imprisonment, reduced to 25 years due to a guilty plea. Defendant 2 received life imprisonment and a 5 million baht fine, reduced to 25 years and a 2.5 million baht fine for admitting guilt. Defendant 3 was sentenced to life imprisonment and a 5 million baht fine. Defendant 4 was sentenced to death; for firearm possession, fined 1,000 baht. As defendant 4 was a government official, his sentence was tripled, but the death penalty was the maximum. Defendant 5 was sentenced to death only. The Appeals Court upheld these sentences.
At the Supreme Court stage, only Mrs. Rapeekarn, defendant 3, filed a petition seeking a reduced sentence. Defendants 1, 2, 4, and 5 did not appeal the Appeals Court’s judgment.
The court considered that the life imprisonment sentence imposed on defendant 3 by the Appeals and trial courts was appropriate given the case circumstances and found no reason to alter it. The Supreme Court thus upheld the life sentence and 5 million baht fine against defendant 3 as ruled by the Appeals Court.