The Criminal Court sentenced a man to 26 years in jail for raping a 19-year-old female student in the Huai Khwang area of Bangkok last year, but ordered the sentence to be reduced to 13 years due to his confession.
The court was told that on Sept 15 last year, Surin Yantadilok, alias Bang Heem, 37, entered the student's apartment in Huai Khwang and raped her, before leaving with the girl's belongings, including six Buddha amulets.
On Sept 22, Huai Khwang police formally sought a warrant for Surin's arrest.
Surin was finally tracked down and arrested after spending months on the run at a house in Ram Intra Soi 2 in Bang Khen district.
Police also managed to recover the valuables that Surin took from his victim's apartment at his house.
According to the police, the suspect confessed to the crime after he was apprehended.
After his arrest, Surin was remanded in custody at the Bangkok Special Prison and charged with rape, burglary, and trespassing.
He was brought to be sentenced at the Criminal Court on Monday.
At the trial, the victim was able to positively identify the suspect.
She said she could still distinctly remember the accused's face and his voice.
The court were also presented with the results of a forensic DNA test, which implicated Surin with the rape.
As such, the court ruled that there was enough evidence and solid witness accounts against Surin to conclusively rule that he had indeed committed the crime.
Surin was initially handed a 26-year jail sentence by the court, which consisted of an eight-year sentence for the rape charge, and a combined sentence of 18 years for burglary and trespassing charges.
However, the court then decided to commute his 26-year sentence to 13 years, because Surin had confessed to the crimes.
The court also ruled that Surin must return all the valuables he had stolen from his victim's apartment.
