The Criminal Court yesterday handed down death sentences to two men found guilty of the shooting murder of Australian auditor Michael Wansley in Nakhon Sawan more than seven years ago.

A third man was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the killing, but the man accused of masterminding the plot was acquitted.

The men condemned to death are Somchoke Sutthiwiriwan and Sompong Buasakul. Sompong was accused of coordinating the shooting. They were the second and fourth defendants in the case, respectively. Boonphan Sutthiwiri-wan, the first defendant, was given life imprisonment.

The court acquitted Pradit Sutthiwiriwan, the older brother of the condemned man Somchoke and a relative of Boonphan. He was the third defendant in the case. Clarifying its verdict acquitting Pradit, the court said there was no evidence clearly linking him with the shooting on March 10, 1999 of the Australian auditor, who was investigating a bankruptcy case at a sugar mill in Nakhon Sawan.

In finding the three defendants guilty, the judges relied on testimony from a key witness - Somchai Jaihao, the rider of the motorcycle used in the shooting, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Somchai implicated Somchoke and Sompong as the main players in the drive-by killing.

Pichet Kaewsamduang, the alleged gunman who shot Wansley while the van in which he was travelling approached the Kaset Thai Sugar mill, is standing trial separately following his arrest in 2002. His capture was the last of all those accused in the case.

Wansley was an auditor working with the South Sathorn Planner Co Ltd, which was hired to investigate accounting irregularities at the heavily indebted Kaset Thai Sugar Co Ltd.

Pradit, a director of the sugar company, was acquitted even after a prosecution witness testified that Pradit had told him and Boonphan, two days after the victim was killed: "This must be kept as quiet as possible. It's good that the farang is dead, so he has stopped messing with us. We can go on peacefully from now on."

The verdict said Pradit's remark did not indicate his role as the mastermind of the plot, and records of calls he made to Somchoke a few days before the shooting were not supported by any evidence that he issued the death order at that time.

After the verdict was delivered, about 50 members of the Sutthiwiriwan family wept and hugged the three men. Pradit maintained a dismal expression despite his acquittal. All three  men said they would appeal against the verdict.

Adam Wansley, a son of the victim and a co-plaintiff in the case, was not present in the courtroom.

According to the verdict, Somchoke and Sompong approached Pichet through Somchai. Boonphan, Somchai and Pichet provided the motorcycle used in the shooting and Somchoke played another important role by identifying the victim to the hit team and getting Pichet to Bangkok after the victim had been shot and killed.