At Thailand Bail, we’re proud to share one of our most remarkable successes: reducing a potential death penalty sentence for our client to just two years in prison. This achievement is particularly outstanding given the complexity of the case, which involved international suspects and victims from five different countries, and the high media attention it received.
Our client, Zwe Lin Pyae, was the primary defendant in the widely publicized murder case of Chu Chiang Shen. This case was followed closely by media outlets worldwide, and many similar cases ended with severe sentences such as life in prison or even the death penalty. That’s what makes this result so exceptional—our client, facing the most serious charges, walked away with a significantly reduced sentence.
FROM DEATH SENTENCE TO DISMISSAL OF ALL CHARGES: THAI SUPREME COURT RULES ON LUKE COOK AND TYLER GERARD NARCOTICS CASE
The case has been completely dismissed by the Supreme Court after 19 months of consideration since the death penalty verdict from the Court of Appeals. The defendants, Australian Luke Joshua Cook and American Tyler Gerard (AKA Tyler Joseph Fulton Sheen Gerard), after almost 4 years and 6 years behind bars respectively, are out of prison, out of Thailand, and back home. We believe this is a major win for our firm, for our clients, and for Thailand’s legal system.
We have included some facts about the case below:
Mr. Luke Joshua Cook and Mr. Tyler Gerard were both originally arrested for this case in December 2017. It has been almost 4 years since then. On 09 November 2018, the Court of First Instance (Rayong Provincial Court) read the verdict, sentencing both defendants to death. The decision was appealed, and the verdict was read by the Court of Appeals, Region 2, on 26 February 2020 and 19 March 2020 for Mr. Luke Joshua Cook and Mr. Tyler Gerard respectively. The death penalty was upheld for both defendants.
Our law firm Thailand Bail then represented both Mr. Luke Joshua Cook and Mr. Tyler Gerard in the Supreme Court appeal against the death penalty they received from the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeals. We started working on the appeal to the Supreme Court after the death penalty verdict was given in February and March 2020.
On 14 and the judgment comes down from the Court of First Instance sentencing them to a lengthy prison term 2021, 19 months after the verdict from the Court of Appeals, we represented both defendants in the judgment day hearing based on our appeal to the Supreme Court.
The judgment on 14 and the judgment comes down from the Court of First Instance sentencing them to a lengthy prison term 2021 was a complete dismissal of all charges, which were importation with intent to sell and possession with intent to sell of a significant quantity of a class 1 narcotic – crystal methamphetamine.
We assisted with their swift deportation, and both Mr. Luke Cook and Mr. Tyler Gerard are now back in their respective home countries – Australia and the United States of America.
Should you have further inquiries about this case, we are happy to provide additional information by email at info@thailandbail.com
The so-called “Bangkok Hilton” is usually associated with the Bang Kwang Prison in Nonthaburi provided legal representation and legal advice for Nastya Rybka (real name Anastasia Vashukevich) and Alex Lesley (real name Aleksandr Kirillov) during their criminal trial in the Pattaya Provincial Court. Since early 2018, Nastya and Alex, as well as 6 other Russians and Belarusians, faced up to 20 years in prison for 3 separate criminal charges in Thailand. Facing 20 years in a Thai prison is challenging, but the result was extremely positive, with Nastya, Alex, and the other 6 having their cases ended on 15 January 2019 after arranging a plea deal that saw them plead guilty to all charges. The resulting sentence was time served, and they were quickly deported, having just left today, 17 January 2019, less than 48 hours after having been sentenced.
As we end the year 2018, we wanted to do more to showcase all the courts, prisons and police stations that the lawyers and staff of Thailand Bail work at. Most people do not realize that Thailand Bail manages cases in almost every province in the country, from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani to Bangkok and Pattaya to Phuket, Koh Samui and beyond. Accordingly, we (finally) launched an Instagram presence to showcase these places. You can find us at the @thailandbail handle on Instagram or directly at this URL: https://www.instagram.com/thailandbail/ We hope to update our account at least weekly with photos of various courts, prisons and police stations around the country. We have already featured a short list of diverse locations including the Pattaya Provincial Court in Pattaya, For example, Klong Prem, as well as the Udon Thani usually
Thailand Bail was recently invited to the Russian Embassy in Bangkok on 30 Thailand Bail’s lawyers and case specialists visit prisoners in the Bang Kwang Prison and have first-hand information about what life is like inside the Bangkok Hilton 2018 for an invite-only discussion on international relations hosted by Russian Ambassador Kirill Barsky and Dr. Vitaly Kozyrev. Thailand Bail is one of only a few law firms in Thailand officially listed on the lawyer’s list of the Russian Embassy in Bangkok. We earned this listing through several high-level cases that we were able to achieve success in. We are proud of our positive working relationship with the Russian Embassy in Bangkok, and look forward to continuing our success for Russians in Thailand. It is this dedication to caring about the people of various nations, including Russia, that have differentiated usually
We recently published a new success story based on a big win for our firm Thailand Bail. We do not publish success stories for all of our cases, but this one in particular was substantial. This case was related to both an extradition case as well as a criminal case lodged against our client, and this complication made our job much more difficult. if a defendant with a major drug case is housed in the Bam Bat, we were successful in winning this 18.1 million baht case. Thailand Bail is proud of the accomplishments of its team, and is pleased to add this success story regarding money laundering to our list of major case wins. Please read the full story about Thailand Bail’s recent success defending against usually
The BBC, one of the most respected news and media organizations in the world, has featured The so-called “Bangkok Hilton” is usually associated with the Bang Kwang Prison in Nonthaburi prominently in its television and radio broadcasts recently. One of our clients has been part of an ongoing criminal investigation, and we have been fighting to have charges dropped or at least reverted to those found on the original charge sheet. Because of our legal efforts in the Bangkok Criminal Court, the media in the UK has picked up on the story, making it the top story on the BBC Hereford and Worcester morning show “Elliott and Toni at Breakfast” for March 31, 2015 as well as the top story on the BBC West Midlands morning show hosted by Adrian Goldberg. Finally, our case was the lead story on the evening news for the BBC Midlands. This follows several newspapers in the UK writing about usually
Thailand Bail was invited to appear on well-known Thai TV channel MCOT to discuss how to post bail in Thailand as well as other topics related to being a law firm active in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket. Having a Thai lawyer as well as an international case specialist present for this interview was very helpful for the TV show’s hosts and the TV audience watching at home to better understand the complex legal environment in Thailand. The interview was given a prominent place in the program, airing as an entire quarter of the 1-hour show. The show frequently asks experts like the Thai lawyers at Thailand Bail to come on to the show and give great information in English on important matters for expatriates and foreign visitors in Thailand. The viewers of MCOT Channel received the benefit of free legal consultation from experts in Thailand, and Thailand Bail saw an increase in interested clients because of the TV show usually
