The story of the British Samantha Orobator has become a well known phenomenon in many media channels. Samantha has been caught muling drugs in Laos and was heading for a – rarely executed – capital punishment in Laos. In order to avoid the death penalty, Samantha became pregnant in prison. Of course, men and women are strictly separated in prison but somehow Samantha had found a way to impregnate herself to avoid an accelerated transition into her next life.
Who would not fight for his or her life. Fully understandable.
But who is the father of this child. Was it a “helpful” Lao guard who saved Samantha from execution or a passerby? New information has emerged that the 47 year old John Albert Watson fathered miss Orobator. John is a British citizen from Bradford, West Yorkshire who was arrested on December 16, 2003 in Laos for drug trafficking. He was caught moving 555 grams of methamphetamines which resulted in his life sentence of imprisonment on March 2006.
Like Orobator, Watson is held in Phonthong Prison, located at Ban Phonthong Vientiane Lao PDR . Approximately 63 metre x 93 metre) it was built as a refugee centre by the UN but upon completion in 1994, was used as a detention centre for foreigners and political prisoners.
In comparison to ‘domestic’ prisons (predominately for Lao people) the prison is of a higher standard and does not have a ‘dark room’ (0.5 metre x 1 metre) or solitary confinement cell that is used for extreme punishment of prisoners incarcerated for undetermined periods or death. However, each cell in Phonthong can be boarded closed by the shutters on the windows to make a ‘dark room’.
Somehow Orobator and Watson came “into contact” in Phonthong prison and, luckily for Samantha, her story continues.
