Thai woman jailed in Sweden’s first female gun-crime life sentence. 20-year-old Kwanchai Iamchaeng shot a 17-year-old boy in the face. She found on a gang hit list and travelled 300 km to meet him. Police later uncovered the list and murder weapon in her home.
A young Thai woman was jailed for life this week by the Göta Court of Appeal in Jönköping, southern Sweden. Twenty-year-old Kwanchai Iamchaeng was found to have shot a 17-year-old boy multiple times in the face on December 23, 2023. Before the rendezvous in Norrköping, southwest of Stockholm, the Thai woman had never known nor met the victim. However, his name was found on a gangland enemy list later discovered by police at her home, 300 km from the murder scene.
A 20-year-old Thai woman made legal history in Sweden this week when the Göta Court of Appeal in Jönköping imposed a life sentence on her. The 20-year-old was convicted of a brutal murder in December last year. In addition, she was convicted of attempted murder earlier that year, as well as the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Before her arrest by Swedish police, Ms. Kwanchai Iamchaeng had a clean record. Previously, a lower court in the case had acquitted her of murder but sentenced her to 12 years for the attempted murder and other charges related to the December incident.
Police arrest woman following deadly shooting at tram stop and 300 km journey from her hometown
Police eventually tracked down Ms. Kwanchai after the callous shooting of a 17-year-old boy at a tram stop on December 23, 2023. The accused had travelled over 300 km from Gävle, in Sweden’s historic Norrland, to Norrköping—a larger city in eastern Sweden, approximately 160 km southwest of the national capital, Stockholm.
In short, she was responding to an online notice where the boy was selling a headphone set. However, Ms. Kwanchai also had the name of the 17-year-old boy on a gang hit list. The hit list was related to a violent gangland feud between a group in the Marielund area of Norrköping and a rival gang called the Caro network. It appears Ms. Kwanchai had obtained the hit list from the latter group.
Following her trip to Norrköping and her rendezvous with the 17-year-old online seller, she gunned him down. Police suggest she shot him multiple times in the face at point-blank range.
Discovery of headphones and gang hit list supports prosecution in court of appeal trial
Later, the headphones were found in a drawer at her home in Gävle. At the same time, police also unearthed the gangland hit list with the 17-year-old’s name. At her trial before the lower court, Ms. Kwanchai claimed she was coerced by others upon her arrival in Norrköping. In addition, she claimed the shooting of the 17-year-old victim happened while she was making the headset purchase.
Previously, that court found there was not enough evidence to convict her on the murder charge.
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However, the Court of Appeal found otherwise. In effect, this week, the court president suggested there was no alternative explanation.
“The fact that the young woman was close to the victim at the time of the shooting and the short time frame of the offence were crucial to the appeal court’s decision, and there were no circumstances to suggest that anyone else had the opportunity to commit this offence,” Court President Ann Ganelind said in her judgement.
The young Thai woman was sentenced to life imprisonment. In addition, she was ordered to pay compensation to the victim’s family. Ms. Kwanchai is the first woman to be sentenced to life in prison in Sweden for a gun crime.
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