BTC Investors Could Be Facing The Death Penalty Following Crimes In Thailand

After being accused of violating Thailand’s sovereignty by building a home in the middle of the sea, one Bitcoin investor from America could be facing the death penalty.

Chad Elwartowski and his girlfriend, Supranee Thepdet (known as ‘Bitcoin Girl Thailand’, are both looking at charges that threaten the nation's independence after authorities found their ocean-based home which was located about 12 nautical miles from the Thai coast.

The country’s navy has accused him of violating the nation’s sovereignty, but Elwartowski insisted the floating ‘living platform’ in the Andaman sea was built in his pursue for ‘freedom’.

Elwartowski said that their home was 13 nautical miles, which he said is just outside of Thailand’s territorial waters off the shore of Phuket island.

The couple has allegedly built the platform in international waters with the aim to set up a permanent outpost out of any state territories.

His ‘home’ was said to fall under the jurisdiction of no government but still inside Thailand’s exclusive economic zone according to local media sources.

An official complaint was filed to a Phuket police station, colonel Nikorn Somsuk confirmed earlier this week.

Somsuk was quoted saying,

“The navy and its team found a concrete tank floating on the sea but there was no one on it. So they filed a charge citing criminal code article 119.”

If officially charged, the maximum sentence Elwartowski could face is the death penalty.

On her Instagram, Thepdet posted pictures of the couple on Thai beaches, drinking champagne and just overall living the high life. Also in her profile are memes, five Bitcoins and how ‘seasteading’, as it’s known, is a dream come true.

So with this in mind, maybe the death penalty would be a bit too harsh of a punishment?

The couple has now said that they are on the run from the nation as Thailand ‘want them dead.’

Speaking to ABC 7 News, Elwartowski said:

“The Thai military wants us dead. The way things work here in Thailand is that they set the narrative in their media then execute it. The narrative is that we are a threat to national security and we face life in prison or death. They did not want us to survive to get our side out.”