The Brussels Assize Court handed down the maximum sentence on Friday evening against Khoun Souralaysak, guilty of the murder of his wife committed more than 26 years ago. This is a conviction by default. The author has not been found since the incident. He took a flight to Thailand on November 30, 1997, 15 days before his wife’s body was discovered in a freezer in Laeken, and has still not been arrested.
Khoun Souralaysak was sentenced to 30 years in prison with immediate arrest, given that he is still on the run. The jury and judges of the court therefore followed the indictment of the attorney general, by pronouncing the maximum sentence incurred for murder, the penalty scale for this crime being 20 to 30 years in prison.
“Extreme seriousness of the facts”
In their judgment, jurors and judges noted “the extreme seriousness of the facts, which demonstrates a total lack of respect for human life”. They specify that the culprit “brutally ended the life of a woman who wanted to end their relationship and return to her country” and that he acted “out of pure financial interest”.
They again insisted on “the violence and relentlessness” shown by Khoun Souralaysak and the fact that he tried to hide his crime “as long as possible”.
Impulsive, angry and violent
On December 15, 1997, the Brussels police discovered the body of a woman in a freezer, inside a snack bar located on Avenue Prudent Bol in Laeken. The victim was killed with a sharp object. His wounds were consistent with a cleaver found at the scene.
The woman was identified as Ni Con Ping, a 45-year-old Chinese woman who was married to Khoun Souralaysak.
The latter was quickly suspected of being the author of the murder. He was flagged for investigation, but investigators discovered he had taken a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, on November 30.
Despite searches carried out by the Belgian embassy in this Asian country, the man was not found. Belgium considered sending a letter rogatory to the Thai authorities, but ultimately did not do so due to communication difficulties with them.
Divorce
Khoun Sourakaysak is originally from Laos. In 1975, he and his parents, brothers and sisters fled their war-torn country and lived in Thailand for almost five years. They then arrived in Belgium as political refugees, before obtaining Belgian nationality.
He worked as a cook in the municipality of Ixelles then, at the same time, opened a snack bar in Schaerbeek and a second in Laeken.
According to the investigation, Ni Con Ping had started divorce proceedings and her husband could not bear the idea of having to divide their property, he who was in a delicate financial situation due to gambling debts.
Two of Khoun Souralaysak’s children and one of his colleagues described him in court as an impulsive, angry and violent individual.
