Death Sentence for Tourist Murderers in Thailand

Two fisherman were condemned to death yesterday for the rape and murder of a British backpacker in Thailand - a crime that jolted the country´s post-tsunami tourism industry, enraged the Prime Minister and sparked the swiftest of trials. The verdict was handed down just 17 days after the slaying.

Bualoi Posit, 23, and Wichai Somkhaoyai, 24, are to be executed for the attack on 21-year-old student Katherine Horton on resort island Koh Samui.

The two men pleaded guilty in a Surat Thani court last week to raping Ms Horton, from Cardiff in Wales, as she walked on a beach on the evening of New Year´s Day. They killed her and dumped her body in the Gulf of Thailand.

The court found that Ms Horton was attacked by the men as she spoke to her mother Elizabeth on her mobile phone. Her mother heard a scream before the line went dead. Her daughter´s battered body was found floating in Lamai Bay the following day by a jet skier.

Immediately after the murder, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called for the killers to receive the "hardest punishment" possible, saying the slaying hurt the country´s image and could damage tourism.

Mrs. Horton had said she did not want to see her daughter´s killers given the death penalty, but should spend the rest of their lives behind bars. The defendants –who had confessed to the crime- have one month to appeal.