Thailand carries out first execution since 2009

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Thailand has carried out its first execution since 2009, the Department of Corrections said, killing a 26-year-old convicted murderer.

Theerasak Longji was executed by lethal injection on Monday, six years after his conviction.

His death came as Thailand's Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha prepares to travel to the United Kingdom and France on a highly publicized official visit.

The trip will now likely see the former army chief face awkward questions over the use of the death penalty.

"We still have the death sentence, we have not cancelled it yet," said Tawatchai Thaikaew, deputy permanent secretary at the Justice Ministry, adding that the execution was carried out "according to the law."

Thailand's Department of Corrections, which oversees one of the world's largest prison populations, said 325 convicts have been executed since 1935, the majority by firing squad.

That practice ended on Dec. 11, 2003. Between then and 2009, a further six inmates were executed by lethal injection.

Monday's execution serves as a "lesson to deter those who wanted to commit serious crime or violate the law to consider this punishment," the department added in a statement.

Theerasak stabbed his victim 24 times before stealing their mobile phone and wallet, the department said.

(Cover: Security guards stand at a gate inside Klong Prem high-security prison in Bangkok, Thailand, July 12, 2016. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP