Daniel Sancho, sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Edwin Arrieta, is transferred to the high security module of the prison after serving quarantine

Spaniard Daniel Sancho, sentenced to life imprisonment in Thailand a week ago for the premeditated murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, was transferred Thursday to the high-security unit of Surat Thani prison after completing his quarantine period, according to sources close to the case.

Sancho, 30, remained in quarantine since last Friday, when he entered this penitentiary, until this Thursday, and during this period he has not been able to receive visitors or have video calls.

The Spaniard had to take a Covid-19 test on Thursday, which came back negative, and as of this Friday he can be visited and make video calls, although in a more restrictive manner than in the Samui prison, where he remained in provisional custody between August 7, 2023, five days after the crime, and last Friday.

According to sources close to the case, Sancho was transferred this Thursday, after completing the quarantine, to module 6 of the Surat Thani prison, the only one classified as high security according to the prison’s website..

Sancho had to undergo a similar quarantine when he was admitted to the prison on the island of Samui more than a year ago, a common practice in Thai prisons since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The prisoner was transferred last Friday to Surat Thani Central Prison (South of Thailand), on the mainland in the province of the same name and about 100 kilometres from Samui, one day after being sentenced to life imprisonment by a court on that island.

The conviction against Sancho for this case

The verdict held that Sancho had premeditatedly murdered Arrieta on August 2, 2023, on the Thai island of Phangan, near Samui, for which he was initially sentenced to death, reduced to life imprisonment due to the Spaniard’s “beneficial collaboration” in the process.

The judge also found Sancho guilty of the other two crimes of which he was accused: the dismemberment of Arrieta, then 44 years old and whose remains were found in various places in Phangan, including the sea, and the theft of other people’s documents, including the victim’s passport.

Samui Provincial Court told EFE today that the ruling will not be available to the parties until ten days have passed since it was read.

Sancho’s court-appointed lawyer in Thailand, Apichart Srinual, told EFE today that he has not yet received a copy of the ruling, which can be appealed before two courts in Thailand, including the Supreme Court.

Although Sancho asked the judge when he read out his sentence to remain in Samui, this prison, considered friendly in Thailand, does not accept prisoners with sentences of more than 15 years, while the one in Surat Thani includes prisoners with sentences of between 15 years in prison and the death penalty.

Surat Thani prison is located in an unpopulated area about 600 kilometers south of Bangkok and houses about ten times more prisoners than Samui prison, 4,730 male and 626 female prisoners.according to figures from the Department of Corrections.

Son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho and investment analyst Silvia Bronchalo, Daniel Sancho initially confessed to the crime but later and during the trial maintained that the death of Arrieta, a Colombian plastic surgeon with whom he met in Phangan on the day of the events, was due to an accident.