Laos to determine how imprisoned Brit got pregnant Updated May 22, 2009 05:26 PM
VIENTIANE (AP) – Lao authorities are investigating how a 20-year-old British woman accused of heroin smuggling became pregnant in prison, a challenge because the woman has refused to reveal the identity of the father, a government-run newspaper said Friday.
Samantha Orobator's case at first drew international attention over concerns that she could be executed by firing squad if she was found guilty. But under Lao criminal law, a pregnant woman cannot receive the death penalty.
Orobator was on her way to Australia when she was arrested at Vientiane airport Aug. 5 after police say they found 680 grams (1.5 pounds) of heroin in 68 capsules on her body. The British legal charity Reprieve claims the drugs were found in Orobator's luggage. Orabator has said she is innocent.
According to Lao authorities, Orobator initially told authorities she was pregnant by her boyfriend in England but tests carried out showed no signs of pregnancy. It was not until March 2, that she was found to be pregnant in a hospital test that was verified by a second test April 4, police said, meaning she must have gotten pregnant while in prison.
Police now say her trial will be delayed until they find out how Orobator became pregnant to ensure "the trial is fair and justice was done."
"This case is not difficult because everything is clear as she was in possession of the drug and all the evidence was on her body," Police Lt. Col. Khamphonh Sihaphancha was quoted as saying in the Vientiane Times. "The problem now is her pregnancy so we need more time to investigate."
Police did not say what their investigation would entail but they raised the possibility they would be looking into whether Orobator might have gotten pregnant by artificial insemination.
Orobator has refused to reveal how she became pregnant and her mother Jane Orobator recently said that she had not been raped by prison officials or fellow prisoners. Jane Orobator also said the father was not a Laotian prison official but she did not reveal the identity of the father nor say whether she knew who it was.
Even if she is convicted, Orobator may not spend much time in Lao jail. A deal struck between British and Laotian officials earlier this month which could allow Orobator, if convicted, to serve any jail sentence in Britain.
Laotian officials, however, could still veto her return.
This F'cking ugly bitch had sexual intercourt with her nigga's boyfriend be fore heading to Laos, and engaging with f'cking illegal drugs and got arrested at the International Airport.That's was it.
A PREGNANT Brit held on drugs charges in Laos will not face trial until she has told the truth about her baby's father.
Samantha Orobator will now stay behind bars after the case was postponed by the Laos Government.
The 20-year-old has been told she's got little chance of returning to the UK until she comes clean about who got her pregnant in the notorious Phonthong Prison for Foreigners in the capital Vientiane.
And now prisoners, including a 47-year-old Brit serving a life sentence for drugs trafficking, face the spotlight.
The Britain John Albert Watson, from Halifax, West Yorks, was Samantha's closest friend in the prison after she was sent there last August.
From the prison he has denied having sex with Samantha claiming: "It's impossible. I could not have done it. How could I have got to her?"
But a denial by the Laos authorities that there is free association between the sexes in the prison appears to be not totally frank.
Pics taken inside the prison show men and women are only separated by a flimsy wire fence.
Probe
Laos authorities have not ruled out the fact that Samantha may have impregnated herself with another prisoner's sperm to avoid the mandatory death sentence.
And after a blanket denial this week, through her mother Jane Orobator, that she was raped or had sex with a prison guard, Laos authorities have said they they have been compelled to investigate her pregnancy, as she had lied to them about it.
Drug Control Department Director, of the Minister of Public Security, Police Lt Col Khamphonh Sihaphancha said: "Everything will be postponed until everything is made clear."
"We will solve this case as soon as possible," he said, adding that Samantha had claimed she was sick and pregnant by a boyfriend in England last September.
Samantha, from Camberwell, South London, was arrested at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane on August 5, 2008, on her way to Sydney, Australia.
She had 680 grammes of heroin, contained in 68 capsules, hidden in different parts of her body.
Lt Col Khamphonh revealed, after details of her case were sent to the prosecutor last November, she was visited by an Aussie doctor seven times for health checks.
On each occasion the doctor passed security checks by prison guards.
Thai authorities at first even suspected the doctor as being the culprit but now officials have been forced to look for the suspect among the prisoners.
Watson's mum Pat is reported to have admitted she received a message three months ago telling her she would be a grandmother again.
She had allegedly described her son as being ecstatic and reported that male and female prisoners freely associated during the day.
Watson, who was jailed for trafficking in methamphetamines, has two children by a previous girlfriend. But they have been estranged since his arrest nearly four years ago, also at Wattay airport.
"Our challenge is to continue our search into the matter," Lt Col Khamphonh said.
The Laos authorities' belief that Samantha could have impregnated herself with another man's sperm has been fuelled because she had a syringe amongst her personal possessions, allegedly because she had "woman's problems".
I wouldn’t rule out the use of an intimidating tactic by some communist officials in Laos to get a false confession from her.If they really want to know the truth, just wait until she has her labor then conduct DNA test.It is very simple method simply using cotton swabs to collect saliva from the mother, the child and the alleged father.But the officials who are assigned to investigate this case must assure her immunity that she will be released to the British authority as agreed in due time. Otherwise, she will keep saying she was impregnated by her boyfriend. I would have said the same thing if that is the only way to escape from Laotian Jail and I am sure her mother denied the rape incident for the same reason.
I don’t think the government has anything to do with this case. It is an act of jail official who wants to save his own ass assuming that the rape had actually occurred and the government gets involve due to her citizenship of other country. There was an initial rumor that she was forced to giving a written confession so that she wouldn’t face a death penalty and Lao governments now have no other alternative but to punish its own perpetrator in order to save face and to show the world its presumed-utmost seriousness of justice, and its impeccability; as a result, there should be no political or economical repercussion and the international community should not lose its faith in Laos. This case can actually be positive for the country at the end.
