U.S.-Thai pair facing death for 'sea home' should fight the charge: Thailand says
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS APRIL 19, 2019 / 5:28 AM / UPDATED 10 HOURS AGO
U.S.-Thai pair facing death for 'sea home' should fight the charge: Thailand says
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A senior Thai government official on Friday urged a U.S. man and a Thai woman on the run from a possible death sentence for building an off-shore sea home to fight the charge in court.
The two, Chad Elwartowski and his partner Supranee Thepdet, have been accused of violating Thai sovereignty by raising a small cabin on top of a big, weighted spar in what they say are international waters, 14 nautical miles off the west-coast Thai island of Phuket.
But Thailand says the structure is in its 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
I urge them to get a lawyer to fight this case, Supoj Rodruang Na Nongkhai, the deputy provincial governor of Phuket, told Reuters.
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They have been charged under a law on the violation of sovereignty, which stipulates punishment of life in prison or death.
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Read more:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-seahome/u-s-thai-pair-facing-death-for-sea-home-should-fight-the-charge-thailand-says-idUSKCN1RV0KM