Worrasit, 'The Angel' for alleged murderers, masterminds, fraudsters

Worrasit Piriyawiboon, 65, is and has been the lawyer for many foreigners accused of crimes ranging from grisly murder, masterminding an international fake passport syndicate to undertaking multi-million fraud in the country.

Among his high profile clients, who had attracted worldwide media attention, were Spaniard Artur Segarra, accused of killing his countryman and disposing of the victim's dismembered remains into Chao Phraya River; and 17 Chinese Uyghurs facing deportation.

He is also the lawyer for Andre Xavier Justo, the Swiss national who was sentenced to three years imprisonment for attempted blackmail of his former employer, PetroSaudi International.

Speaking to Bernama at his modest kampung-style wooden house here recently, Worrasit said his late brother, a lawyer, was his idol, which inspired him to follow in his footsteps in becoming a legal defender for alleged criminals.

"My late brother was my idol, I actually followed in his footsteps; he also began his career as a columnist with a newspaper before turning his sights to life as a lawyer."

Worrasit started off as a columnist with a local newspaper, providing legal anecdotes to various enquiries from his readers.

According to him, his late brother was the 'favoured lawyer' among the alleged criminals to the extent of giving him a nickname, "The Lawyer Bandit" for his work with those accused of grievous offences.

On why his clients called him "The Angel," or "Father," Worrasit said, it was probably because of his wholehearted commitment to help them overcome the legal hurdles they faced.

"I treated my client like my own son or siblings, defending (them legally) with care and honesty," he said, adding that all of them remain as the accused until proven otherwise.

On what motivated him to spend more than half of his life upholding the legal rights of alleged criminals, he said it was the satisfying feeling of being able to help another person.

He recalled one particular case early in his legal career which propelled and eventually launch him in his mission to defend foreigners who got on the wrong side of Thai law.

It was a case which he took on pro bono basis, involving a young man from Algeria who was arrested in Sakaew province near the Cambodian border for some minor offence.

"I paid for everything, food, gas and drove over 200km to Sakaew many, many times to represent the young man and managed to get him released. I am so proud (of myself) because I managed to help people in need and it left a huge impression on me," he said.

Worrasit said the question of money or payment, although important, was the least on his mind, recalling a payment in a form of "a can of Coca-Cola" from one of the clients he represented.

In another case involving a Sierra Leone man, Worrasit said the client promised to pay him via "God's Automated Teller Machine (ATM)".