Godfather Naw Kham might get away with it in Thailand
A Thai court might acquit Golden Triangle Godfather Naw Kham if he had been tried in Thailand and not in China, according to a lawyer in Chiangmai.
Comparing Naw Kham, who is awaiting court decision in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, with a multi-murder suspect in Thailand whose story has captured the headlines for weeks, the lawyer, who asked not to be named, said:
- The victims (of the said suspect in Thailand) were found in land owned by the suspect
- Bullets were found in the victims’ remains
- The suspect has a number of (unlicensed) firearms in his possession
- The victims’ automobile was found in his land
There are witnesses to the alleged killings“By contrast,” he said, “the Mekong, where the 13 Chinese sailors were killed, does not belong to Naw Kham. Those who had been witnesses to his masterminding the killings were also the co-accused (who could be deemed as doing what they could to seek official pardon). And I have not heard weapons used in the killings had been produced as evidence during the trial. Had he been tried in a Thai court, these are not sufficient to convict him.”
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Naw Kham in Serious Trouble in China
For those who have been following the incident on the Mekong River where 13 sailores were killed on a Chinese boat here is some background to the man himself, Naw Kham
It would seem he is a dead cert for the death penalty in China but as a last hope he might do better if he can get his trial transfered to Thailand, Land of Smiles, where old time king pins have had some extraordinary good luck in the past.
Lu Hsu-shui was a ripe target for a Thai and U.S. DEA operation by Group 41 until the CIA stepped in and sorted things for him.
Similarly Lo Hsin Han was picked up by Thai Border Police when he crossed into Thailand on business. It would seem he got into the wrong helicopter but despite being sentenced to death he was freed during a general amnesty a few years later and he was sent back to Burma where he was released to continue his affairs up north. His Shan interpreter wasn't so lucky; "To Burma to die" were his last words to Adrian Cowell as he boarded the plane.
Khun Sa was the victim of 'Operation Tiger Trap' by the DEA and Thai Army when his base in Chiang Rai, Ban Hin Taek was attacked. This prompted him to move the short distance across the border to Ho Mong which remained his base for the MTA until circumstances in the Shan States conspired to cause him to retire to Yangon where he died a free man still engaged in business at the age of 73. Rumours of collusion between him and the Thai army over the attack are awaiting confirmation.
China is a lot less accomodating to players of this ilk while Thailand has a more delicate form of justice in such cases; 'We are all gamblers in the end.'