A BRITISH man has been sentenced to 18 years and nine months in prison for committing ATM fraud on Phuket, a spokesman for the the British Embassy has confirmed.
The sentence was handed down to Mark Hubert Veerasawmy, 45, late last week. His son, Sonny, 20, is believed to be awaiting a verdict on a similar charge.
The pair were arrested in February last year, reportedly acting suspiciously outside a bank near Robinson department store in Phuket City.
At the time, police said the father and son were found in possession of 15 withdrawal slips, 10,000 baht cash and 35 fake ATM cards.
Police said a search of the pair's hotel room uncovered 100,000 baht.
Mark Hubert Veerasawmy is likely to serve his sentence at Phuket Provincial Prison. The jail, built to house 700 prisoners, currently holds 963 men and 100 women.
In January this year, a journalist from Phuketwan visited the prison with the intention of speaking with the Veerasawmys.
At the time, a woman who was visiting the jail confirmed that she was Sonny's mother but opted not to allow the Phuketwan journalist to join her visit.
Phuket's jail made headlines last month after another British man, tourist Mark Burrowes, spent three weeks imprisoned there before being bailed.
Mr Burrowes, 44, was detained at the Phuket airport Immigration counter on January 31 as he attempted to leave the country.
Mr Burrowes swore at an Immigration officer when the validity of his passport was questioned and insulted Thailand, officials said. He is due to appear in court in April.
In a telephone call to Britain last month, Mr Burrowes told an online news site that he was held with 126 men in a cramped cell.
''Thai prisons are notorious for being some of the worst,'' he is reported to have said.
''There is no privacy. You go to the toilet in the open and there is no toilet paper. There were guys in there that had scabies and were next to me,'' Mr Burrowes said in the telephone call.
The sentence was handed down to Mark Hubert Veerasawmy, 45, late last week. His son, Sonny, 20, is believed to be awaiting a verdict on a similar charge.
The pair were arrested in February last year, reportedly acting suspiciously outside a bank near Robinson department store in Phuket City.
At the time, police said the father and son were found in possession of 15 withdrawal slips, 10,000 baht cash and 35 fake ATM cards.
Police said a search of the pair's hotel room uncovered 100,000 baht.
Mark Hubert Veerasawmy is likely to serve his sentence at Phuket Provincial Prison. The jail, built to house 700 prisoners, currently holds 963 men and 100 women.
In January this year, a journalist from Phuketwan visited the prison with the intention of speaking with the Veerasawmys.
At the time, a woman who was visiting the jail confirmed that she was Sonny's mother but opted not to allow the Phuketwan journalist to join her visit.
Phuket's jail made headlines last month after another British man, tourist Mark Burrowes, spent three weeks imprisoned there before being bailed.
Mr Burrowes, 44, was detained at the Phuket airport Immigration counter on January 31 as he attempted to leave the country.
Mr Burrowes swore at an Immigration officer when the validity of his passport was questioned and insulted Thailand, officials said. He is due to appear in court in April.
In a telephone call to Britain last month, Mr Burrowes told an online news site that he was held with 126 men in a cramped cell.
''Thai prisons are notorious for being some of the worst,'' he is reported to have said.
''There is no privacy. You go to the toilet in the open and there is no toilet paper. There were guys in there that had scabies and were next to me,'' Mr Burrowes said in the telephone call.
