Jindarat Prutsiriporn died after she hit her head on the road while trying to escape her kidnappers in March 2016. Photo / Supplied
Jindarat Prutsiriporn died after she hit her head on the road while trying to escape her kidnappers in March 2016. Photo / Supplied
A man jailed for his part in the fatal car boot kidnapping of a Thai woman wants his conviction overturned saying there's "fresh evidence" and he wasn't given proper legal advice at the time of his trial.
Luigi Havea was one of 11 people arrested and charged following the death of Jindarat Prutsiriporn in March 2016. He was jailed for 10 years and three months after being found guilty of manslaughter and kidnapping.
However, Havea has today sought to overturn his conviction at the Auckland High Court before Justices Forrie Miller, Timothy Brewer and Simon Moore.
Prutsiriporn died in hospital, two days after she hit her head on the road while trying to escape from her kidnappers who had held her hostage for 22 hours.
The 50-year-old was being transported in the boot of a car when she pried open the hatch and flung herself out.
The mother-of-three known as Nui had served time for importing meth and was on active charges at the time of her death.
Crown prosecutors alleged there was bad blood over money and drugs between the woman and the mastermind of the kidnapping, Seng Lek Liev, also known as Cambo Jack.
Liev hired the Head Hunters' "ghost unit" to kidnap the woman and Havea served as conduit between Liev and the unit, the Crown case alleged.
The jury found Havea guilty after a ten-week trial.
In court today his lawyer Nathan Batts pointed to "fresh evidence" from two co-defendants, one of them Havea's brother Panepasa Havea, who claimed he was not involved in the operation.
A second point of the appeal was that Havea did not give evidence at his own trial in 2017 because he did not want to get in trouble with the gang, the court heard.
Defendants at the 2017 High Court sentencing: (front, from left) Luigi Havea, Masi Vaifale, Joseph Benjamin Haurua. (Back from left) Sen Lek Liev, Sodarith Sao, Aphichart Korhomklang. Photo/ Doug Sherring.
But that decision not to testify was made out of "general confusion" and insufficient legal advice, Batts argued.
He said Havea was presented with the pros and cons of giving evidence at the time, and the decision was left up to him.
"That is clearly not enough," Batts argued, "Counsel has to go further and say what decision you should make and why."
Havea's lawyer at trial, Michael Kan, defended Havea on the claim that he wasn't a member of the Head Hunters or the ghost unit and so couldn't have been part of the kidnapping and manslaughter.
Under questioning today, Kan said the case was difficult because Havea elected not to give evidence, which gave him "nothing to work on".
Havea had talked about a code of silence, "the boys" and "his team" - "Don't get them into trouble, basically," Kan recalled.
