Australian DJ jailed for two life sentences in Thailand for selling 61 XTC pills

Bangkok: An Australian DJ will serve two life sentences in jail for possessing 61 ecstasy pills in the Thai beach city of Pattaya after losing an appeal to have the term reduced.

Jake Mastroianni, 26, will be kept in Bangkok's notorious Klong Prem jail in Bangkok where up to 30 prisoners share cells in conditions described as harsh.

Mastroianni appeared shackled in a Bangkok court on Tuesday with a 28-year-old former British soldier, Lance Whitmore, who lost his appeal on a 50-year sentence.

Mastroianni was arrested in Pattaya in August 2014 with 61 ecstasy pills and Whitmore with 200. Pattaya, a city three hours drive from Bangkok, has dozens of late night clubs and is known as Thailand's "sin city".

Mastroianni's Facebook page under the stage name "Badmouth" shows that he was a regular at Sydney clubs in 2013, before he arrived in Thailand.

In 2014 he worked as a DJ at Thailand's famous "full moon" party on Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Sapphire club in Pattaya's Walking Street announced in May 2014 that Badmouth would make his final appearance as guest DJ before he returned to live in Australia. He was arrested in three months later.

Whitmore's sentence was half as long as Mastroianni's because he pleaded guilty last year.

Nathan Feeney, a legal consultant for Mastroianni told The Guardian his client would have received a much lighter sentence if he had pleaded guilty but his previous lawyers advised him not to.

Jeffrey Stevens, a lawyer acting for 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.

Mastroianni's harsh sentence means he can apply to be transferred to an Australian prison in six years.

Friends and family of Whitmore have set-up a fundraising campaign to help him.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was providing consular assistance to an Australian man imprisoned in Thailand.



Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/australian-dj-jailed-for-life-in-thailand-20160907-grai1m.html

Bangkok: An Australian DJ will serve two life sentences in jail for possessing 61 ecstasy pills in the Thai beach city of Pattaya after losing an appeal to have the term reduced.

Jake Mastroianni, 26, will be kept in Bangkok's notorious Klong Prem jail in Bangkok where up to 30 prisoners share cells in conditions described as harsh.

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Mastroianni's harsh sentence means he can apply to be transferred to an Australian prison in six years.

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So when he gets transferred to an Aussie prison in 6 yrs those 2 life sentences would be pretty useless here I would imagine? Surely after some time back in prison here he'd be able to appeal against the severity (and stupidity) of the thai sentence....?

poledriver said:

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So when he gets transferred to an Aussie prison in 6 yrs those 2 life sentences would be pretty useless here I would imagine? Surely after some time back in prison here he'd be able to appeal against the severity (and stupidity) of the thai sentence....?

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You would think. Then again if Australia doesn't honor the sentence then the thaI land may stop future transfers.

Who knows. Depends on complex international agreements and protocols for this sort of thing. Not to mention that many countries have life sentences that have very little risk of lasting the persons whole life unreleased.

Best way to find out I'd imagine is to find out what's happened with previous prisoners with life sentences transferred here. That will likely tell us the answer faster and more accurately that anything else we're qualified to say. I doubt they'd transfer him in the first place if they both themselves specifically wanted a real life sentence (rather than just the appearance of a life sentence for domestic consumption) and Australia won't guarantee they'll enact it. But they may well want to avoid more negative diplomatic complications and giving him a harsh sentence themselves. Letting everyone forget about it over the next few years. Then quietly transferring him here not really caring if he's then released would be a good way about it. They get what they want, to look tough on drugs to their people, Australia gets their citizen freed. And most of the public have forgotten by the time it comes around to transferring then releasing him.

Personally I have no idea, kinda curious myself what the answer is.

Diseases, overcrowding and sex with ladyboys: Inside the notorious Bangkok prison where Australian DJ and British soldier will spend the next 50 YEARS after they were caught with ecstasy

Australian DJ and British soldier will spend decades inside Bangkok's Klong Prem prison for selling ecstasy
They are Jake Mastroianni, 26, a Melbourne DJ and Lance Whitmore, 28, from Bromsgrove,Worcestershire
The prison is renowned for being overcrowded and Thailand has a soaring prison population
Cells measure about 1.5 metres by 3.5 metres including a small bathroom area and houses five prisoners
Prisoners live by a strict schedule and spend 13 hours a day in their claustrophobic cells
Diseases spread quickly, prisoners are covered in tattoos and relationships with ladyboys are permitted

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An Australian DJ and a former British soldier will spend decades in an overcrowded Thai jail for selling ecstasy after an appeal to have their sentences reduced was rejected.
Inside the cramped Klong Prem prison, diseases spread quickly, prisoners are tattooed to stave off boredom, and relationships with ladyboys are permitted - but prisoners have to be careful due to high HIV rates in Thailand's transgender population.
And if inmates have problems with each other, they're given boxing gloves and fight it out inside the ring.

Jake Mastroianni, 26, a DJ from Melbourne who went by the name Badmouth, appeared at a Bangkok court in shackles when he lost an appeal to have his sentence reduced from two life prison terms.
And 28-year-old Lance Whitmore from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire lost his appeal on a 50-year sentence on Tuesday, Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Mastroianni was carrying 61 ecstasy pills and Whitmore was carrying 200 when they were arrested in Thailand’s beach city of Pattaya in August 2014.



They will serve time at Klong Prem jail, a high-security prison notorious for its poor conditions.
A typical cell is just 1.5 by 3 metres, and sleeps five prisoners side-by-side on blue mattresses, according to Reuters.
A hole in the floor of the cramped cells is for human waste.

Despite violence and rape being rare, disease easily passes from one prisoner to another in the confined spaces, The Telegraph reported.

The Telegraph was told prisoners who had problems with each other were given boxing gloves to deal with their differences inside a ring.
And relationships between inmates and 'ladyboys' who are also incarcerated in the prison was allowed - if they informed authorities and agreed to a form of 'marriage'.

They could even move into the same cell once the 'marriage' was approved, and seek a 'divorce' if needed.
But monogamy was emphasized due to high rates of HIV in the country's transgender population, it was reported.
Many of those in the prison are covered in tattoos because there's little else to do.

Under Thai law, Whitmore can apply to be transferred to a UK prison in 23 months when he has served four years, The Guardian reported.
Mastroianni can apply to be transferred to Australia in six years, however neither are guaranteed their application will be successful.
Mastroianni was given double the sentence because he did not pleaded guilty last year when Whitmore did.

The Australian man’s legal consultant Nathan Feeney told The Guardian Mastroianni had been advised by a previous lawyer not to plead guilty.
The pair will also have to pay 3.3million baht (£71,000 or AU$125,000) in fines, Mr Feeney said.
According to Reuters, Thailand's prison population in July was at 321,347, with about 70 per cent jailed for drugs offences.





http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...kok-Australian-DJ-British-soldier-jailed.html

They publicize this but it's not like the Daily Mail is advocating for the legalization (or even the decriminalization?) of MDMA in Britain... He would still go to jail for possessing 200 pills in the UK or Australia... Are they just implying the length of the sentence is too long? That's kind of subjective and hypocritical if it's still illegal in your country...

I can't imagine how devastating it must feel to have your entire life taken away all because you enjoyed euphoric highs and wanted to let others enjoy them too.

Asia is fucked up. And yeah we're not much better here but... life for 61 MDMA pills? Fuck off.

Sure, maybe not usually, but I doubt this is the usual sentence either.

Check out this article about people getting ridiculous sentences in the U.S. Dude got like 12 years for a handful of pills.
http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads...re-to-people-than-San-Francisco-and-Durham-NC

pretty bad advice from the first lawyer to plead not guilty.

Felonious Monk said:

They publicize this but it's not like the Daily Mail is advocating for the legalization (or even the decriminalization?) of MDMA in Britain... He would still go to jail for possessing 200 pills in the UK or Australia... Are they just implying the length of the sentence is too long? That's kind of subjective and hypocritical if it's still illegal in your country...

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As you probably know in Australia we have pretty lenient sentences for drugs in general. In some instances the sentences can be pretty long and harsh but sometimes people get off pretty easy, like this dude -

Ballarat nightclub ecstasy dealer jailed -

Arrested on December 13, Benjamin Vermeend appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to multiple drug-related offences including trafficking ecstasy and cannabis and dealing with proceeds of crime.

The court heard a car travelling along Eureka Street was intercepted on December 13.

Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Pepe Brown said the accused, a passenger of the car, and the remaining males appeared nervous when police approached.

He said a black bag was found in the boot of the car containing 213 ecstasy tablets, approximately 36 grams of cannabis, $2866.20, deal bags and a ticket to the Ballarat Cup with the accused’s name on it.

The court heard passengers in the car told police Vermeend trafficked ecstasy and cannabis at a Ballarat nightclub.

Vermeend was arrested and made a no comment interview. When searched by police, a single ecstasy tablet and $1157 was found in his underwear.

Messages relating to trafficking, including ones asking for drugs, were also located on his phone.

Vermeend’s defence lawyer David Taminika said there was a concerning “strong culture” of drugs in the festival and nightclub scene.

He said Vermeend had never been to jail and asked the magistrate to consider that fact and the man’s young age.

Magistrate Franz Holzer told Mr Taminika it was the amount of drugs that was concerning.

“To commit this type of offending, there is only one option for the court and that is jail,” he said.

In sentencing, Mr Holzer said he believed more time than the one night Vermeend had spent in custody was appropriate.

Vermeend was sentenced to one-month imprisonment to be followed by a 12-month community corrections order with 150 hours of community work.

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http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/3564980/caught-with-more-than-200-ecstasy-pills-sent-to-jail/

With a half decent lawyer you would be unlucky to serve time for a first conviction as a street level dealer (which is what 200 pills would indicate).

Drugs in SE Asia is such a fine line. On one hand corruption means supply is great but that same corruption means penalties and dodgy police interference is also great. Personally I'd prefer to take my chances with the Australian justice system and only enjoy the cultural sights in Thailand etc

If you stick to personal amounts and use your noggin where you get them from in my experience Thailand is fine. If you do get caught a couple of grand will get you out of trouble. I have spent extensive time in Thailand, had a Thai girlfriend and never had a problem. This guy was a falang dealing...always a recipe for a fall.

Damn, if that was in the US that's like some time served maybe a few months and drug court...

I love how the signs prohibited items lists drugs first and explosives like fourth