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Wanted berry trader arrested in Thailand

Ari Hallikainen, the Swede who left 149 Thai berry pickers stranded after emptying his firm Lomsjö Bär of cash and fleeing the country, has been arrested in Thailand.

Published: 23 February 2013 14:18 CET
Wanted berry trader arrested in Thailand

According to the Bangkok Post, Thai police recently received information from locals that the 52-year-old Hallikainen was living in a house in the Muang district of Chon Buri, a province in east Thailand.

Hallikainen disappeared from Sweden in the autumn of 2010, just before his berry company went bust.

The 159 Thai workers he employed did not receive their wages and were stranded in Sweden for months while waiting to receive state wage guarantee payouts.

Hallikanen had a series of bankruptcies behind him and in 2007 faced charges of assault involving berry pickers in Hälsingland.

His firm, Lomsjö Bär, was also involved in a highly publicized fight in Särna in the summer of 2010 involving Vietnamese berry pickers. The argument led to the arrest of several berry pickers after they locked in their supervisors.

The Thai chief of police said that it was hard to track Hallikainen down since he regularly switched hiding places, reported local Swedish newspaper Västerbottenskuriren (VK).

Hallikainen was present at a press conference in Thailand this week and several local Thai news outlets reported on his arrest.

He had been detained in absentia for several months.

According to Bangkok Post, Hallikainen has confessed and some Thais were also involved in the Lomsjö Bär scam.

Thai police plan to track down other gang members and Hallikainen will be sent to the Thai Immigration Bureau for further legal proceedings.

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THAILAND

Thai court sentences Spanish man to death for grisly murder

A Thai court sentenced a Spanish man to death on Friday for the grisly murder of a fellow Spaniard whose dismembered body parts were discovered in Bangkok's main river last year.

Published: 21 April 2017 10:28 CEST
Thai court sentences Spanish man to death for grisly murder
Artur Segarra walks handcuffed and surrounded by police officers after he arrived by helicopter at the Tha Raeng police aviation base in Bangkok on February 8th 2016. Photo: AFP

Artur Segarra, 38, was convicted of kidnapping and killing 40-year-old David Bernat in an effort to steal tens of millions of baht from the businessman, according to a verdict read out at Thailand's Criminal Court.

“Forensic evidence such as blood stains and fingerprints on (Segarra's) electric grinder had DNA that matched the victim,” the judge said, adding that CCTV footage and testimony from Segarra's maid and girlfriend also implicated him in the killing.

“Therefore the judge sentences the defendant to death on the grounds that he committed premeditated murder in order to steal the victim's money.”

While death sentences are still on the statute books in Thailand it is rare for prisoners to be executed. The last execution was in 2009.

Segarra's lawyer, Jessada Piyasuwanvanich, told reporters his client would likely file an appeal and “fight the case to the end”.

Segarra, who had denied all the charges, appeared calm while the verdict was read and translated to him in Spanish.

When he arrived at court he held his hand up to show the words “Luke 23:34” written in ink on his palm. The Bible citation is a reference to Jesus's final words on the cross.

The macabre murder came to light last January after Thai police began hauling body parts out of the city's Chao Praya River. It took them several days to identify the victim.

Segarra was arrested in neighbouring Cambodia several weeks later.

It is not uncommon for foreigners to get swept up in Thailand's criminal underworld.

Earlier this month an Australian man was sentenced to death for the murder of a former Hells Angels member found beaten and naked in a shallow grave in Pattaya, a popular Thai beach town known for its raunchy nightlife and links to organised crime.

In September, Thai police arrested three Americans in Bangkok after discovering the frozen body parts of another foreigner inside their freezer.

The men were charged with multiple offences and are being held in prison while they await trial.