Woman jailed two years for killing cyclists, drunk driving
THE 24-year old woman who slammed her car into a convoy of cyclists on a mountain road last year, killing three of them, was sentenced yesterday to two years in jail for drunk driving that resulted in deaths.
Patchuda Jairuan was driving in Chiang Mai’s Doi Saket on May 3 last year when the accident happened.
Five relatives of the deceased were co-plaintiffs.
The Chiang Mai Provincial Court had handed down a four-year jail term but commuted it to two years in light of her cooperation by confession.
Compensation ordered
The Civil Court had dropped a suit for Bt5 million in damages filed by two daughters of Chairat Yonglan, one of the three dead victims. The court ruled there were mitigating circumstances because the family of Chairat had received Bt1.2 million in compensation from their insurance company already.
The court ordered the defendant to pay Bt1.72 million in compensation to the family of Saman Khantha and Bt435,000 to Pongthep Kamkaew.
The court also granted Patchuda release on bail before the defendant filed an appeal.
Kongkan Yonglan, Chairat’s daughter, said that although she respected the court’s verdict, she felt the two-year jail term was not suitable punishment for the deaths of three people and the suffering of their family, which faced great losses.
She said Patchuda never showed remorse, visited, or apologised to her and her family.
She urged motorists to be aware of the consequences of drunk driving.
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