Supreme Court Reverses Decision, Sentences Parliamentary Candidate to 4 Years for Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault

The Supreme Court has reversed previous court decisions and sentenced Theerawat Phanna, a parliamentary candidate from Maha Sarakham Province, to 4 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman. The incident occurred on January 18, 2020, in Vientiane, Laos, where the defendant allegedly drugged the victim and sexually assaulted her while she was incapacitated. The court ordered the defendant to pay 200,000 baht in compensation to the victim, reducing his original sentence by one-third to 2 years and 8 months due to mitigating circumstances.