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Australian DJ sentenced to life in jail in Thailand

Mastroianni behind the decks before his arrest.

Mastroianni behind the decks before his arrest. Photo: Facebook

A Victorian man has lost an appeal against two life sentences handed down by a Thai court after he was caught with 61 ecstasy pills in 2014.

Melbourne DJ Jake Mastroianni, 26, and British ex-soldier Lance Whitmore, 28 were both charged with drug possession, but Whitmore received only a 50-year sentence after pleading guilty.

A lawyer for Mastroianni told The Guardian on Wednesday his client would have received a lighter sentence had he also pleaded guilty, but was advised not to by his former legal team.

Whitmore, who was found with 200 pills, will be eligible to apply for a prison transfer to the UK once he has served four years in Thailand, while Mastroianni will have to wait six years for a transfer to Australia.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Trade and Affairs told The New Daily it was providing consular assistance to Mastroianni, but couldn’t comment further under the Privacy Act.

Mastroianni a regular at Full Moon parties

According to his professional Facebook page, Mastroianni played at Koh Phangan’s famous full moon parties and was due to travel back to Sydney when he was arrested for possession.

Promotional images from 2013 suggest he was a regular on the bill of Sydney nightclubs including Mega in Cremorne and Candys Apartment in Potts Point before moving to Thailand.

Mastroianni will be held in the notorious

Mastroianni will remain in a Thai jail for at least six years. Photo: MySpace

He was also billed as a “special guest” at 808 nightclub in Pattaya, where he and Whitmore were discovered with the drugs.

Whitmore’s father lives in Pattaya, according to The Guardian.

Prisons overcrowded with drug convicts

Mastroianni will remain in Bangkok’s notorious Klong Prem jail until his eligibility transferral.

In July, Thailand’s Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya told Reuters the country was admitting defeat in the war on drugs as prison populations were getting out of hand.

“I want to de-classify methamphetamine but Thailand is not ready yet,” he said, referring to the thousands of low-level dealers spending long prison terms in facilities such as Klong Prem.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports methamphetamine use is at its highest level ever in southeast Asia, with panicked governments taking different approaches to the epidemic.

Klong Prem prison

A guard with a baton in the sleeping quarters of Bangkok’s Klong Prem Prison. Photo: Getty

In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte has been accused of encouraging the murder of drug addicts and drug dealers.

As many as 2400 people are believed to have been killed since the campaign began.

Meanwhile, Tim Lindsey, Director of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society at the Melbourne Law School, told The New Daily last month that Indonesia’s tough-on-crime stance to drugs stood out even against its neighbours.

“In Asia there’s been a very gradual trend away from hardline executing, but Indonesia has done the opposite,” he said.

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