An Australian and a Briton sentenced to decades in a Thai jail for drug dealing have lost an appeal to have their term reduced, their legal team has told the Guardian.
Jake Mastroianni, 26, a DJ from Melbourne in Victoria, will serve two life sentences and Lance Whitmore, 28, an ex-soldier from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire will serve 50 years. The pair appeared shackled together in Bangkok’s criminal court on Tuesday to hear their joint appeal had been rejected.
Jeffrey Stevens, a lawyer whose firm Thailand Bail works with both men, said he was disappointed by what he said was a severe sentence. “Everyone was hoping the sentence would be reduced further,” he said.
He said the pair had the option to take the case to the supreme court but did not plan to do so as further appeals would also delay them from applying to be transferred to prisons in the UK and Australia.
Under Thai law, Whitmore can begin that process in 23 months once he has served four years in prison, although it is not guaranteed to be successful. Mastroianni’s harsher sentence means he can apply to be transferred to Australia in six years’ time. However, because Whitmore pleaded guilty last year, his sentence is half as long as Matroianni’s.
“We’ve done every thing we can,” said Stevens. “At the end of the day, Lance did plead guilty. We were not fighting the fact that he was guilty.”
Working for a petroleum company, Whitmore was caught in August 2014 with 200 ecstasy pills in the beach town Pattaya, where his father lives. Mastroianni was caught with 61 pills, Stevens said.
Nathan Feeney, a legal consultant for Mastroianni, said his client would have received a much lighter sentence if he had pleaded guilty, similar to Whitmore, but his previous lawyers advised him not to.
The court ruled on Tuesday that the duo would not have to pay 3.3m baht (£71,000) in fines, Feeney said.
Klong Prem, the high-security prison where the pair are living, is notorious for its poor conditions. Small cells have a hole in the floor for human waste, and inmates sleep on the floor. It is referred to locally as the Bangkok Hilton.
Whitmore’s mother said last month she hoped the appeal would help her son. Debbie Caswell wrote on a Facebook page set up to raise money for the case she was “praying for good news”. She said: “It’s been 2 years now and I would love to wake up and not feel the pain and anxious feeling inside of me every day and try to keep myself sane for Lance who is my everything.”
A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to an Australian man imprisoned in Thailand but did not name him. “Due to our obligations under the Privacy Act we will not provide further detail on this matter,” the spokesperson said.
Asked about Lance Whitmore, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are continuing to provide assistance in this case, and will remain in contact with relevant authorities.”