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 About my arrest

 

I had been living and working in Real Estate with my Thai girlfriend at the time, in the island in the South of Thailand Koh Samui for about 2 years. We, my girlfriend and I, had just got the great news confirming she was pregnant; we were planning to marry in the next few months. Business was going extremely well and I had just finished converting part of the house we were renting into my real estate office. Things couldn’t have been better!!

Lek my girlfriend had just left to her mother’s home in the north of Thailand to give her mum the news of our marriage and first child on the way.

 

2 days later April 21^st 2003

Our lives where turned into a living hell, mine and my girlfriend, my families back in England was devastated.

Police came to my house, searched it and found (20 grams marijuana), 11 amphetamine tablets (purity 0.2 of a gram), 14 ecstasy tablets (purity 1.3 of a gram) and 24 grams of Heroin pure). The marijuana, amphetamine and ecstasy where mine for my personal use, the 24 grams of Heroin was left behind by a friend the day before. It doesn’t matter the details of that now, it was in my house and I had no option but to accept that, so I also said the Heroin was mine, to deny it would have made things worse for me.

I later found out when I was taken to Bangkok and forced to sit with another English man who had been arrested in Bangkok with 760 grams of Heroin on him, in front of a whole media circus TV crews and newspaper reporters a whole room full of 30 – 40 of them. The drugs found in my house and those found on the other man, money confiscated from the 2 of us all laid out on a table in front of us and a whole load of top brass Thai Police standing behind us (smile for the cameras).

I now found out I had apparently been jointly charged with this man also for the 760 grams of Heroin found on him, even though I was 700 Km away. They charged me with a Manufacture of 760 grams of Heroin crazy or what!!!

 This is about the most serious charge you can get in Thailand; of course I wouldn’t accept this charge.

At this stage I should say I cannot comment on this man charged with me, as his case is not closed and is going to the appeal courts.

After 12 days in filthy cramped conditions in a cell in the police station, we were moved to the remand prison in Bangkok called “Bombut” we were sent to different buildings and did not have contact with each other. I was shackled on arrival there and kept in shackles for 6 months. My weight dropped from 85 Kg to 63 Kg in a matter of months. Conditions there where evil, inhumane, my Trial (fucking Joke) was set out at odd days over 18 months.

My pregnant girlfriend kept me alive visiting every week without fail bought food from the outside visitors shop. She was travelling over 1000 kilometres a week by bus.

We were desperate to marry before the birth of our child to guarantee him a UK passport. After endless requests, paperwork, major dramas the embassy and the prison finally gave in and on September 22^nd we were married in the prison with  my wife, her mother and 10 guards present. No celebration or ceremony they did consent to taking of my shackles for the 1 hour it lasted. No time alone together and the first time I had met her mother. I believe, I was, I am the only prisoner to marry in the prison Bombut.

Only just in time as on October 8^th 2003 a little early and a little small our son was born “Oak Michael Willcox”. A strange name, I know but I wanted something different and something at the same time English to me, so I thought of Oak tree and hope our little oak grows into a big and strong chap like a oak tree. I didn’t even know Oak had been born until over a week later after his birth. The prison failed to tell me despite the embassy asking them to.

Finally November 1^st 2004 I was sentenced, I won the 760 grams Heroin joint charge and was sentenced to life for the drugs found in my house. They added the Heroin, Amphetamine and Ecstasy together one charge for (25 grams purity) life with a fine of 1.200.000 baht reduced because I pleaded guilty to 33 years and 4 months and the fine down to £11.000. Oh!! Plus 2 months for the marijuana.

The day after I was sentenced, I was moved here to Bangkwang prison. I quickly applied to the courts to close my case, as to have appealed my sentence by going to the appeal courts available would have prompted the prosecution to appeal my not guilty on the other charge, that would mean me risking getting the death sentence again and also the appeal courts take up to 7 years or more in some cases. Also if your case is not closed you can not transfer home, can not apply for a Kings Pardon, and can not receive any kind of amnesty. Its blackmail I know but what can you do. My case is now closed thank god!!!

This whole nightmare has cost my parents their life savings in lawyer fees, Mum’s and my Sister’s trip out here, monthly allowance for me and my wife, let alone the heart attack my father had on his birthday soon after getting the news of my arrest. He’s ok, but has permanent damage to his left side and has been diagnosed diabetic now. He had to retire through bad health from work and at the end of this year; mum has to retire, again through deteriorating health. My wife raises Oak alone, so is unable to work. (See Photo's)

My best hope of getting out of prison before 16 yrs. 9months – 23 years and 8 months is with a Kings Pardon, which I am putting together right now. But if Tony Blair were to support my pardon it would surely be granted and quickly. It would help immensely if people would write to him and lobby him.

I can transfer to a UK prison when I have served 4 years here, but not only do I have to pay my fine of £11.000 in full before I am allowed to transfer, I also have to pay to the embassy a fixed price ticket for that transfer of £ 1.340.

As I have no means to pay this, it will mean that I have to serve my whole sentence here plus 2 years that will be added to it to pay off the fine.

Everything in this prison has to be paid for. Food, Toiletries, Water, every single thing, my parents have supported me and Lek until now, but with mum retiring at the end of the year, I don’t know. Presently mum sends me 6000 baht a month and I get by very basically with that, she sends the same amount to Lek although Lek probably spends close to 2000 baht of her 6000 baht travelling to visit me and buying me fruit and food on her visit.

When I was first in Bombut, I asked mum to open a Bank account in the hope that some of the friends I wrote to would help.

                                                                                    By Steve Willcox