25 October 2001 :

A Briton faces the death penalty in Thailand after being accused of involvement in a heroin-smuggling ring. Teacher Julian Gilbey, 34, is charged with trafficking 4.3kilos of the killer drug, worth £500,000 on the street, as part of an international gang. He was arrested along with Dutchman Marinus Dendrikus Parlevliet, 49, and Thai woman Nam Oy Nakcharoen.
Two men from Nepal, Hari Gurung Bahadur, 27, and Ghale Pore, 30, were also arrested close to Gilbey's flat. All five now face execution just months after the new Thai Government restored the death penalty for drugs offences.
Those sentenced to death are made to stand behind a white sheet which has a cross drawn on it to mark the accused's heart. An executioner then takes aim with a rifle and fires.
The death sentence is usually commuted to life imprisonment if the prisoner pleads guilty.