Samantha Orobator, the 20 year old South London girl convicted of smuggling 1.5lb or Heroin in Laos, has been sentenced to life in prison.
The mystery of how she came to be pregnant after ten months in a women only prison, was partially solved when her Mother declared that no male prison guards were used in this experiment, nor was she raped – despite the lurid tales of ‘water-boarding’ and other unusual treatments bandied about in the excitable media reports at the time.
So, that leaves consensual sex with the British officials who visited her once a month for twenty minutes, or a self inflicted pregnancy courtesy of a turkey baster. Do they sell turkey basters in Laos?
Whatever, her pregnancy has ensured that she misses out on the death sentence, and her life sentence will be served in a jail in Britain. She should arrive in the UK within the week.
Little surprise that the Laos authorities should prefer that the UK bear the cost of feeding and housing this dumb mule and her offspring of unknown parentage, for the rest of her life, but who is going to define the ‘life sentence’. In Laos it would certainly have meant until she died of natural causes.
Safely back in the land of Human Rights and victim hood, who can doubt that an entire raft of expensive lawyers will be employed to ensure that the tax payer still feeds and houses her for life, but in nothing that remotely resembles anything so judgemental as a prison.
The tax payer funded charity ‘Reprieve’ is still out in Laos overseeing her case.
This week Laos, next week a seat on Gordon Brown’s ‘National Democracy Review Board’ overseeing parliamentarians – we must include a rich sample of ordinary people with their extraordinary life experiences, probably Baroness Crack of Brixton Road by the end of the decade.
SBML is the landlord of the Raccoon Arms. He lives North of Watford and has an eclictic range of interests from Science and Technology to Politics including Woodwork and Genealogy. His political viewpoint has evolved from being a student demonstrator to more liberal views and has now seen the light in Libertarianism.
{ 29 comments }
It beggars belief doesnt it
I must admit, the whole episode with this Nigerian born “woman” make me sodding angry.
Festering in a jail in Laos is John Albert Watson, father of two sentenced to life in prison in March 2006.
Why haven’t the British Government secured his transfer? Mr Watson IS AN ENGLISHMAN! Miss Orobator may have British Citizenship (which should be revoked for shaming us) but she is originally from Nigera!
Is it because she is a woman, or because she’s pregnant or because she is an immigrant that she receives preferential treatment!
The Daily Express says that John Watson is in the same jail and was asked if he was the sperm donor, which he denied!
The paper also adds that should this treaty be successful it may allow him to be extradited to serve his sentence in Britain.
It’s a pity we don’t do the same with our foreign prisoners but I doubt that prisons abroad give their inmates satellite TV, playstations, free education and takeaways of their national dishes like ours do!
Once a Nigerian, always a Nigerian.
Apparently it was a turkey baster father, with the full knowledge that Laos doesn’t execute pregnant women. That and the promise of $12 Million from her deceased uncle, currently in a bank vault in Lagos and etc., etc.,
Watch very carefully who takes up her case when she arrives back in the UK and pleads for her release on the grounds of pregnancy, unfair trial, no evidence etc.
The sad thing is OH, we know exactly what’s going to happen. She’ll get out in a couple of months after being extradited and live her life with her “spawn of convenience” at the taxpayers expense.
Surely there’s a flat already marked down for her. Social workers by the dozen. As much benefit as she needs. All these are her ‘rights’ and should not be denied this hapless, unlucky, but plucky, young girl.
Samantha obviously got pregnant to get out of being shot dead, wouldn’t you do the same ?
A couple of months ago she had sympathy for her plight, now she’s being lambasted – pressumably because if she gets handed over to britain to dole out her punishment, she’ll become an immigrant single mum and you know loved immigrants and single mums are . .
As for other british inmates – whether they are british by birth or choice – I don’t know why they are going with out government/embassy help, lack of press attention ?
Our press is very picky over stories they will or will not cover, also they are particularly bad at up dating those stories. But one thing is sure, a popular media story is like a bomb up the arse to british government and civil servants. Why things are so unbalanced like this makes me angry.
Do some inmates not get assisstance because they have committed lots of simillar crimes at home, is that how it works ?
You bunch of softies.
Of course,the most sensible course of action would have been to hvw executed her and the foetus.
Second best option would be to allow the birth to take place, THEN execute the bitch.
I’m sure I remember reading that this was standard practice in English jails a couple of centuries ago? Usually a guard obliged and the woman was deported rather than hanged. Nowadays women prisoners have female guards and so I understand a freshly filled condom is used instead.
Foreign Office: government department for protecting the interests of foreigners. See also Agriculture re: farmers and Transport re: road hauliers.
O/T but the rolling announcement board at the old Don Muang airport at Bangkok, Thailand used to say:
Welcome to Thailand
Keep you belongings with you
The penalty for drug trafficking is death
No smoking in the airport
Can’t say you weren’t warned.
Samantha obviously got pregnant to get out of being shot dead, wouldn
Cato, yes ok, ha,ha,
this option is only open to women, but would you consider a desperate or stupid route to get out of a simillar situation ? though, obviously not many of us would get in this mess.
I’m not suggesting she should get out of custdodial punishment.
But exactly how mant times did she use the ‘turkey baster’, if this was infact how it happened, given how hard some people find it to get pregnant these days ? is it so easy to get sperm in prison these days ?
is it so easy to get sperm in prison these days ?
Yes, of course, you give ‘em life.
Sorry, it’s one of those days…I’ll get my coat.
“Samantha obviously got pregnant to get out of being shot dead, wouldn
Dear Ms Raccoon,
Just a short message to let you know how horrified I was when I just read the comments posted following your article regarding this young girl who smuggled drugs…Gosh, what a lot of racism …I am a French National who has been living in England for 13 years but never thought the “Brits” as badly racist as my compatriots !!!
I am shocked because I have taken to read your blog recently and marvelled at your intellect and your ability to write…honestly even better that the Sunday Time columnists whom I find really good.
Wouldn’t anybody subjected to death penalty do everything in their power to avoid such an horrible fate…I believe getting pregnant in such conditions must be horrendous and was probably suggested by a lawyer trying to get her out.
It is only fair enough and it is the honour of such a great democracy as the United Kingdom to treat its compatriots the same way whether white or black.
Also the white young girls you despised for getting pregnant and getting free housing are more miserable than you think and should get a better education rather than being blamed … I was fortunate enough to get an education in France in the Seventies as a real “Service Public” did exist in those times…
Also do you and your readers really think death penalty is the right punishment for drug smuggling…wake up what do you think about what is pathetically called “night time industry” in England but I believe you find it fantastic that your young people is encouraged to binge drink and your oldies to clutter the NHS due to self-inflicted illnesses related to heavy alcoholism.
I am deeply disappointed Ms Raccoon…
Valerie
You have all missed the big earners here. When the poor waif comes back to Blighty, we will all here at great length about all the poor social woes that led her to be a drugs mule.
She will sign a deal with the newspapers for a large fee.
No doubt a certain Max Clifford has a bulge in his trousers at the thought of offering support to her and inflating his already large bank balance.
Then when she gets out, there are the proceeds of crime to cash in. TV appearances, yet more tales in the tabloids, then the book deal and maybe even a made for TV movie.
Maybe she will be out in time for next years Big Brother? Then again she has already been locked up in one hell hole!
‘she’s a scum criminal who didn’t give a thought to how many people her pay load would have killed’.
Ah yes, all those poor smack heads, the’re not criminals are they. . .
I’m not disputing that she should be punished, i just don’t think she should be executed for her crime.
Valerie,
I don’t think Ms Raccoon can be held responsible for public opinion…
As far as UK drug policy, when did prohibition ever stop anything. Coffee, tobacco and alcohol are consumed in far greater quantities worldwide than heroin and cocaine and in the case of alcohol and tobacco; are much more damaging both to the nation and the individual.
Of course this girl would do anything to get out of being murdered, any sane person would. That Thailand is renowned for its rigid policy on smuggling just makes it a more attractive place to smuggle drugs because the rewards are higher.
What on earth does it matter whether she is black or not? She hasn’t killed anyone, she hasn’t maimed anyone she hasn’t invaded another country or defrauded a nation she is just another manipulated fool not that dissimilar than the rest of us.
I wasnt sure what to say this morning so I put a suitably bland comment
I dont know the answer here. What should Laos have done with her?
I dont know When in Rome and all that…
Drugs are a bit of a touchy subject because they are running the economy of some smaller countries
Where I worked in New Zealand 80% of the black economy was underpinned by cannabis. Without it the economy of the whole region would probably go to pot ( pun on purpose)
Nice pun, well pointed out!
Portugal seem to have had a fair amount of success with decriminalisation. But would it work for every country seems to be the question. Whatever your position I think most people would agree that current drug policy in Britain is neither effective or productive.
The most worrying thing about executing a drug mule is that by definition they are a victim of their own stupidity it is the person that convinced them to become a smuggler that needs addressing.
How quick some are to judge.
After a early release she might sell her baby to Madonna and use the proceeds to to set up a drug rehabilitation clinic in Laos.
Or even New Zealand….puff puff . Got to help keep the economy bouyant.
Personally, I couldn’t give a toss whether she’s black, white or blue.
What I car about is the use of drugs. If it helps to reduce the number of people using drugs, then I’m all in favour of executing people.
Pour encourager les autres
Question: Why can’t the execution be put off until after the birth?
Dear Valerie
Boo fucking hoo. If you do the crime, you do the time.
If anyone is stupid enough to go to some third world shithole and commit an offence that is punishable by death then that is their own fault entirely.
This woman has willingly gone to Laos and willingly tried to smuggle drugs out of that country. She got caught. The laws of that country stipulate that the punishment for that crime is to to do the hemp fandango. If it’s sympathy you want, you will find it located somewhere between sex and syphilis in the OED.
Zak,
Very well said in your comment #17 but Ms Raccoon can nevertheless be held responsible for what I consider an agressive paper against a miserable girl. “Non, Madame Raccoon, on ne tire pas sur une ambulance”. I also can’t help thinking this morning that the behaviour, a few summers ago, of two white, apparently christian, middle-class professionnals in Portugal does not raise much questionings in her writings. I know we are here entering a very protected world.
Valerie
As evil and destructive to society as this girl is…. She wasn’t the one that produced the drugs, she didn’t buy them, she didn’t push them, she didn’t consume them- she just carried them. How would you feel if someone slipped a kilo of Cocaine in you luggage and you were sentenced to death? You are all very quick to judge this stupid girl, but I didn’t realise so may people think the punishment for stupidity should be death.
People that are successful at smuggling drugs drive sports cars and belong to gentleman
Au contraire Valerie Anna shows that the White middle class professionals in Portugal are as guilty as sin, but of course they are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law as far as British courts are concerned
On the continent you are guilty until proven innocent.
Interesting why they disappeared from Portugal the day or two after being made arguidos
Sign of a guilty conscience or what
She was smuggling smack from Laos to Thailand FFS! This is not a bright girl. Moreover it was hardly slipped into her luggage Zak; the stuff was taped to her body.
What about Mikchael Newman another white brit who died earlier this year from an untreated medical condition in the same jail. He was due to be released this year too (he was in for fraud) the British government couldn’t give two hoots about him (they refused to intervene to get medical attention for him) but a black girl gets favourable treatment! If that isn’t racist/sexist I don’t know what is.
RayD
Welcome to Thailand
Keep you belongings with you
The penalty for drug trafficking is death
No smoking in the airport
This is wrong ! They did allow smoking in Don Muang.
Surely, if they execute her before 28 weeks then its just the same as all the other death sentences that the liberal feminazis always bleat on about – its a wimmins right and in this particular case its one which I wholeheartedly support.