The Chakkri and the Barcalon had the temerity to appear in the capital, dressed as priests. They thought to escape punishment by appearing in a dress that was respected.
The King, in order not to commit any outrage against the priesthood, arranged that they should be arrested by the Chief priest. They appeared before a tribunal where they were subjected to a searching cross-examination. Their cunning replies were unanswerable.
They pleaded that they had been carrying out the King's orders and that they had been pledged to serve him absolutely.
By this excuse they were enabled to escape, the terrible punishment which had been prepared for them.
It had been determined that they should be hung up with hooks by the chin until they expired. The idea was that their punishment should resemble the fate of fishes, as being keen anglers they had caused the death of many fish, a heinous offence to the Siamese who have scruples against fishing.
As the judges found no evidence on which to convict them, the King sought other methods by which he might undo them. He took counsel with the ministers and the legal luminaries of the kingdom, who, after examining the charges on which they had been arraigned, replied, that far from being culpable they were worthy of the highest rewards. The verdict was remarkable, coming from the mouth of judges who trembled under the sceptre of a despot, a single word from whom could degrade or destroy them.
The despot himself announced that "A citizen is not guilty in carrying out the orders of his superiors."
He ordered that the accused should be instantly released, and as if wishing to honour their fidelity, he appointed them to the control of the two chief temples in the city where they hoped to lead a peaceful existence in the obscurity which is the only protection of a citizen against the violence of arbitrary power.
But hardly were they installed in their retreat, when, towards midnight, five or six Malays came to demand them in the King's name. They guessed that sentence of death had just been passed on them. The Barcalon, indifferent to his fate, showed that life no longer appealed to him and far from being terrified, reproached the Chakkri for his weakness and cowardice.
He told him that he must bow to the inevitable. When they were outside the temple, they were stripped of their priestly robes and were given a loin-cloth. The Barcalon beheld the instruments of death without betraying the slightest emotion and presented his breast to the dagger of the executioner and died, pierced by a single stroke. The Chakkri, on the contrary, tried to defend himself, and received many wounds before he was finally disposed of. Their bodies were taken away and impaled and exhibited to the public eye as an example of the vengeance of the King.