Australia, December 11: The lawyer for a 37-year-old Australian man facing life in a Thai jail for drug trafficking is confident of a sentence reduction on appeal, raising hopes of an earlier return to Australia under a prisoner exchange program.
Andrew Hood, a former storeman from the Sydney suburb of Annandale, was arrested last December at Bangkok international airport and later found guilty of trying to traffic up to three kilograms of heroin to Australia.
In August, a Thai criminal court sentenced Hood to life in jail after police uncovered at least seven bags of heroin wrapped around his stomach and thighs.
Reports said the heroin had an estimated street value of 12 million baht ($480,000).
Hood’s lawyer, Prachaya Vijitpokin, told AAP an appeal had already been submitted to the court with a decision expected over the next two years.
“I think (the verdict) should come back in a minimum of nine months or a maximum of two years. Then we will know about the next sentence,” Prachaya said.
“I am confident the judgment of the appeal court will be changed. I mostly look at (other) cases with the same facts and then after the appeal they reduce the sentence from life to be 30 years or 50 years.”
A clear prison term period would enable Hood to request to serve the remainder of his sentence in Australia under a prisoner exchange program.
Prachaya said if Hood succeeded in achieving a fixed term it would open the way for him to be sent back to Australia “in about four years”.
If the appeal fails, Hood faces eight years’ jail in Thailand before he can be eligible under the transfer program.
Legal sources say Hood, facing gambling debts in Australia, had been told to act as a drug mule and traffic the drugs to Australia to clear the debts. The sources said Hood feared for the safety of his family if he didn’t comply.
—Agencies