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Thai ex-train employee gets death penalty for rape, murder of 13-year-old girl on night train

Associated Press
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In this Sept. 29, 2014 photo, a female railway police officer checks the train carriages for women and children, at Hua Lamphong train station in Bangkok, Thailand, The State Railway of Thailand introduced a women’s-only carriage on main routes for overnight trains following the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl on an overnight train in July.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) (The Associated Press)

In this Sept. 29, 2014 photo, female railway police officers talk with a passenger at a train carriage for women and children, at Hua Lamphong train station in Bangkok, Thailand, The State Railway of Thailand introduced a women’s-only carriage on main routes for overnight trains following the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl on an overnight train in July.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) (The Associated Press)

In this Sept. 29, 2014 photo, a passenger looks for her seat on a train carriage for women and children at Hua Lamphong train station in Bangkok, Thailand, The State Railway of Thailand introduced a women’s-only carriage on main routes for overnight trains following the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl on an overnight train in July.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) (The Associated Press)

A Thai court has sentenced a man to death after convicting him of raping a 13-year-old girl on an overnight train, killing her and then throwing her body out the window.

The brutal murder committed by a train employee in July sparked an uproar in Thailand and prompted calls for the execution of rapists.

The Hua Hin provincial court on Tuesday convicted Wanchai Saengkhao of murder, raping a minor and other charges.

The 22-year-old confessed to drinking beer and taking drugs during his shift before raping and killing the girl, who was traveling with her sisters to Bangkok.

The girl's body was found near train tracks in western Thailand three days after her murder. The incident prompted the national rail authority to introduce women's-only carriages on main routes nationwide.