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Published on December 28, 2007

Danish national Kim Lindegaard Neilsen, 36, who has already served more than 17 months while undergoing trial, and will be released after he serves the remaining sentence.

He was convicted for criminal intimidation, but was acquitted of criminal conspiracy due to insufficient evidence and testimony.

Forty-three-year-old Briton, Crispin John Granville Paton-Smith, the second defendant and a Bandidos member, arrested in a police raid last July 2006, was also acquitted of criminal intimidation due to insufficient evidence and testimony.

According to the Criminal Court, both Neilsen and Paton-Smith took over a bungee-jumping business from Neil Patrick William, also a Bandidos member, after threatening to harm him if he revealed any information about their criminal posse.

Both defendants later did the same to Eric Donald Riemsdyk, another Bandidos member, after he wanted to quit the gang. They were trying to force him to turn over his Samui House and Land real-estate business to them, but were not successful because Riemsdyk fled.

Somsak Toraksa, a lawyer for both victims, said the British embassy had expressed concern over the acquittals and the light sentence handed to Neilsen.

 The Nation