British Couple Murdered On Koh Tao

[pdogg]

Odd for police to be saying the arrested suspects are not scapegoats.

 

 

The national police chief Pol Gen Somyos Poompanmuang held a press conference this afternoon to reconfirm that the two Myanmar migrant workers arrested for allegedly killing two British tourists on Koh Tao in mid-September are real suspects and not scapegoats as widely speculated.

 

Pol Gen Somyos was accompanied by one of his deputies, Pol Gen Chakthip Chaichinda and Pol Lt-Gen Manoo Mekmok, commissioner of Office of Forensic Science at the press conference held at the National Police Office amidst an army of Thai and foreign reporters.

 

Pol Gen Somyos said that the arrest of the two suspects namely Win and So Lin, both 21, was attributable to five reasons: an eyewitness, a Myanmar migrant worker who implicated them; their DNA samples match with the DNA found in the body of one of the tourists; video footage showing the two suspects; a smartphone of one of the victims found in the possession of the suspects; and the confession of the suspects at the presence of their lawyers.

 

The police chief said the police were confident that they had substantial evidences to convince the court to convict the two suspects.

 

He shrugged off widespread criticism in the social media that the two Myanmar migrant workers might be scapegoats as pure fantasy and said that the police were not shaken by such ridiculous criticism.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/police-chief-reconfirms-myanmar-migrant-workers-real-suspects/

[pdogg]

I hear the arrested Burmeses suspect are on suicide watch.

[JaiDee]

Yup, and how convenient for the authorities; "sorry, they killed themselves in their cells, case over."

[pdogg]

 

The funeral of Hannah Witheridge, who was brutally murdered while on a backpacking holiday in Thailand, was held in her home village today.

 

A white horse-drawn hearse with a mounted police escort took the body of Ms Witheridge, 23, on a short final journey from her family home in Hemsby, Norfolk, to the village's St Mary The Virgin church.

 

Her disfigured and semi-naked body was discovered alongside that of David Miller, 24, from Jersey on the Thai island of Koh Tao on September 15.

 

Dozens of people, many in tears, arrived for the funeral service, billed as "Hannah's Party", with many arriving in brightly coloured clothes as a celebration of her life, as her family had asked.

 

A number of mourners wore flower headbands, similar to those worn by Ms Witheridge, as a tribute.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11154089/Hannahs-party-funeral-held-for-Thai-beach-murder-victim-Hannah-Witheridge.html

[pdogg]

From Time magazine or maybe just the online version.

 

 

The Investigation Into Thailand’s Backpacker Slayings Is Officially a Farce Allegations of torture, procedural irregularities and wild speculation in the press: Thai authorities are botching a high-profile murder probe

 

Murdered British backpacker Hannah Witheridge was finally laid to rest in England on Friday. But 6,000 miles away in Thailand, the investigation into her tragic death, and that of her friend David Miller, whose funeral took place Oct. 3, spiraled further into farce.

 

The main suspects in the killings, which took place on the Thai Gulf island of Koh Tao, have reportedly claimed that they were tortured into a confession, and public prosecutors rejecting the police report.

 

“The two victims and their families deserve justice, which will only be possible if there is a fair and transparent process,” says Kingsley Abbott, Bangkok-based adviser for the International Commission of Jurists. Above all, he adds, “the burden of proof rests on the prosecution,” as the “two men must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

 

On Sept. 15, the bloodied bodies of Witheridge, 23, and Miller, 24, were discovered on the island that is famous among scuba divers and sandal-clad tourists for its pristine beaches and coral reefs.

 

Burmese nationals Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21, were arrested last Friday and quickly confessed to the double murder. They had apparently worked illegally on the island for a number of years and were driven, say police, by a desire to rape Witheridge after seeing the young British couple canoodling on the white sand.

 

The Thai authorities then dragged the two suspects to the rocky outcrop where the tourists’ bodies were found for a grisly re-enactment. Wearing helmets and body armor, they demonstrated for assembled media how the bludgeoning, using a garden hoe and wooden stake, took place and prayed for forgiveness. Both could face a death sentence if convicted.

 

Yet a litany of questions and inconsistencies hang over the investigation. Other than the apparent retraction, proffered by an official at the Burmese embassy, there has been a rejection of the police’s investigation report, with public prosecutors on Wednesday asking the authors to supply “more crucial information,” “fix certain flaws” and make the 850-page document “more succinct.”

 

Numerous character witnesses have come out to defend Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun and they have no criminal record. Essentially, the case against them hinges on five strands of evidence:

1. Their Confessions. The most damning evidence in any case is a confession. However, reports have since emerged that Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun were beaten and threatened with electrocution during interrogation. (Other irregular workers questioned have alleged they were alternately offered bribes and doused with boiling water.) It also emerged that the translator used was a Rohingya — a member of a distinct Burmese ethnicity that suffers periodic pogroms at the hands of west Burma’s Rakhine majority, to which the accused both belong. There are unconfirmed rumors that the interpreter, who has since even given interviews, actually participated in the beatings. In addition, upon initially being picked up, neither the accused were apparently provided with a lawyer as they were being questioned under the Immigration Act rather than as part of a murder inquiry. (It is unclear at what stage a legal counsel was eventually provided.)
2. Three DNA Samples. These were found on two cigarette butts close to the crime scene, two of which — from Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun — are purportedly matches for samples recovered from Witheridge’s body. The third is apparently that of Maung Maung, a friend of the accused who says he was with them drinking beer and playing guitar on the beach shortly before the attack. However, Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunan, director general of the Central Institute of Forensic Science and the country’s leading forensics authority, on Thursday decried the collection of evidence as a “weak point” and said the police committed a major error when they failed to involve a forensic pathologist.
3. Maung Maung’s Testimony. This forms the third strand of evidence, although it is no slam dunk. He admits being with his two friends on the beach but leaving them at around 1 a.m. They wanted to keep on drinking, he said, so he went to see his girlfriend. He claims not to have seen any evidence of a crime, according to media reports.
4. CCTV Footage. This shows the three Burmese riding a motorbike by a convenience store, where they apparently bought cigarettes and three bottles of beer. It corroborates Maung Maung’s version of events, but is circumstantial at best.
5. Miller’s Cell Phone. It was discovered at lodgings of Zaw Lin, according to police. The device, a black iPhone 4, was apparently smashed and discarded as it did not work inside Thailand. But why would Zaw Lin do that when he could have sold it for at least a month’s salary? And if he was concerned about possible incrimination, why keep it at home?

But there are numerous other threads to tug. Given that Burmese migrants were in the spotlight from the outset, and this pair were well-known on the island and frequently seen in the vicinity of the crime scene, why were they not hauled in for DNA tests and questioning sooner?

 

In addition, there have been significant procedural irregularities, including allowing tourists into the crime scene before all evidence was collected. CCTV footage has been produced, but with significant gaps, and only from a selection of the many sources available. The defense team will want to examine this all. There is also no complete, undisputed timeline of Witheridge and Miller’s movements prior to the attack. Considering the notoriety of the case, and the victims’ sociable nature in this small community, that is very odd.

Finally, there has been rampant press coverage of the unsubstantiated remarks made by local officials. In the latest, the chief of the prison where the suspects are being held told a reporter Thursday he “is afraid they may commit suicide” because they are “feeling guilty for the crime.”

 

Thailand does not have jury trials and so the press has free reign to report on ongoing investigations, with the presumption that the sitting judge will be able to discount all speculation and concentrate on the evidence in hand. Even so, it is clearly prejudicial to the suspects to have individuals from such diverse sources as Burmese embassy, the Myanmar Migrant Labour Association and the Thai police, among others, talking openly to the media about what the suspects supposedly think and feel.

 

“That all these people are coming out and making these statements is incredibly detrimental to a fair trial,” says British labor-rights activist Andy Hall, who, as part of a monitoring mission, has met with the accused, the police, the prosecution team and British Ambassador Mark Kent.

 

Abbott agrees that normal procedure for a defense counsel would be to stop any further comment. “Our primary concern at this stage is to ensure the two suspects are provided with the assistance of a competent lawyer of their choosing,” he says, adding that whoever is chosen must have “adequate time and facilities to review the evidence.”

 

Otherwise, we may have to mourn not two, but four lives senselessly lost that night on Koh Tao.

http://time.com/3487462/thailand-koh-tao-murders-hannah-witheridge-david-miller-zaw-lin-win-zaw-htun/

[JaiDee]

The families of those 2 Brits will never get any real peace, and those 2 Burmese kids will end up dead in prison someday soon.  Damn shame, the corruption in that country never ceases to amaze.

 

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2014/10/thai-police-covered-up-for-mafia-claims.html
 

''A leading Thai media mogul went on his own television station in Bangkok last night and said that Thai police were covering up for the island mafia over the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.''

[Snick]

I'll add that Sondi is about as Yellow-Shirt as they come and a huge opponent of Thaksin, for him to diss the General like this means the Honeymoon is really over.

[seven]

I'll add that Sondi is about as Yellow-Shirt as they come and a huge opponent of Thaksin, for him to diss the General like this means the Honeymoon is really over.

And the general is what side? Red?

[rxpharm]

The General is a royalist, which makes him a red opponent, although he would never claim such.

[seven]

The General is a royalist, which makes him a red opponent, although he would never claim such.

Then i don't understand snicks post

[rxpharm]

It's clear, Sondhi feels that the cover up by the Royal Thai Police of this murder investigation reflects badly on the current government, to the extent he broadcast his critical views on the situation. IE he doesn't have confidence in the general's handling of this situation, even though they are both "yellow".

[seven]

It's clear, Sondhi feels that the cover up by the Royal Thai Police of this murder investigation reflects badly on the current government, to the extent he broadcast his critical views on the situation. IE he doesn't have confidence in the general's handling of this situation, even though they are both "yellow".

OK, thanks. Thats what puzzled me ,  I would've thought an oponent would critiize, but like they say ,TIT, crystal clear

[Guest JustSumGai]

But of course, this kind of thing happens everywhere.

[lance2546]

Thailand is great- until you have a problem...

Your motorbike gets stolen, you report to the police and they laugh at you.

Stopped at a red light and a drunk Thai crashes in to you; guess who is at fault?

Never mind, tourist continue to visit and the Thais continue to rip them off at every opportunity.

Where is the incentive to improve?

[bumblebee]

Koh Tao murder suspects officially recant confessions, claim abuse by interpreter.

 

The two Myanmar suspects in the Koh Tao murder case officially retracted their confessions Tuesday night, saying they had been coerced into admitting they’d killed two British backpackers and now demand...  http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/438824/koh-tao-murder-supsects-officially-recant-confessions-claim-abuse-by-interpreter

[Guest JustSumGai]

I'm not reading anything more about this story, it's just too damn pitiful. I think Sam forgot #11 on his list... after looking at the other 10 things you should do when you go to Thailand, consider staying home and spending the money on going to the nice places in your own country (where you don't need a list of ten things to choke down)

[Tomcat]

Thailand is great- until you have a problem...

Your motorbike gets stolen, you report to the police and they laugh at you.

 

 

 in London they dont even laugh , they just file and forgot it. Take my word for it Thailand is not that different in this respect

 

Ive had stuff stolen where the Police knew who it was but did nothing ..more than once. .. to busy trying to nab motorists , the low hanging fruit

[JaiDee]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/772375-koh-tao-murders-influential-island-figure-vows-to-clear-his-sons-name/?utm_source=newsletter-20141030-0726&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

 

''The son of a village headman who has remained under a cloud of suspicion since the murders of two tourists on Koh Tao last month will finally submit a DNA sample for testing.

Weeks after the investigation pointed the finger of suspicion at the island’s “influential figures” before pivoting back to “Burmese migrant laborers,” Woraphan Tuwichian said his son Warot “Nomsod” Tuwichian would present a sample to clear his name at the invitation of the national police chief.''

[lance2546]

in London they dont even laugh , they just file and forgot it. Take my word for it Thailand is not that different in this respect

 

Ive had stuff stolen where the Police knew who it was but did nothing ..more than once. .. to busy trying to nab motorists , the low hanging fruit

Will they take the report in London?

My bike, a CBR250 and another tenants Ninja250, were stolen at 0230 and we went to the police station at 0800. The cops refused to take the report.

Went back the same day with a CCTV video of the theft and some good facial shots of some of the thieves. The cops took the report but said the video was 'not clear.'

I contacted the local English rags but they wouldn't touch it because they are afraid of the police.

I'll take my chances with the cops back home any day.

PS- The Ninja owner and I each offered a 10,000 baht 'finder's fee' when we got our bikes back.

Thailand is great- until you have a problem. Then you are on your lonesome.

[Tomcat]

t.

Went back the same day with a CCTV video of the theft and some good facial shots of some of the thieves. The cops took the report but said the video was 'not clear.'

 

i had the same issue in London, some due was seen kicking my door in and the police knew him but nothing happened. He robbed 4 apartments . I could go on and on

 

A plumber nicked all my gold and the Police did fuck all even though this scumbag was known as a local thief to them

 

My BMW was stolen by a 16 year old and wrote off and nothing happened.. they said hes a retard. ??

 

In London 90% of theft is not solved and unless you just had a Mondrian or a Monet snaffled away then you aint getting it back whether you file a report or not... your wasting your time and many people dont even bother now telling the police

 

Its just a matter of Degree ....

[pacman]

I hate to say it but if the police know the guy & they learn he or she has stolen something valuable, they aren't interested in helping you, they will just go around & take it themself. I never thought that until I experienced it. And our corruption levels are not as bad as LOS or the UK. Or so I'm told.

 

The police stealing from the thieves, how can a crime get any better than that? There's no victim to complain & there's no one to investigate. Perfect.

[lance2546]

I hate to say it but if the police know the guy & they learn he or she has stolen something valuable, they aren't interested in helping you, they will just go around & take it themself. I never thought that until I experienced it. And our corruption levels are not as bad as LOS or the UK. Or so I'm told.

 

The police stealing from the thieves, how can a crime get any better than that? There's no victim to complain & there's no one to investigate. Perfect.

Bingo! I figure that the cops knew who did it, that's why they weren't interested in a reward. Why accept 10k when you can have a free CBR250 or Kawasaki Ninja? Shaking down the thieves for a few big bikes in exchange for permission to operate in a police district, pretty common actually.

The Thai cops know their districts pretty well and the locals are always observing each other and gossiping. Som chai doesn't work, but he always has plenty of money. Hmmmm

I'm seeing more cops ridding around on larger bikes and I doubt they paid for them.

I finally had the realization that I can live anywhere and I decided to sky up :)

[pdogg]

 

A Swiss tourist is missing after he went snorkeling alone on Saturday off Koh Tao.

Police yesterday conducted a search on the land and water for 44-year-old Suter Hanspeter, who never returned from snorkelling after he was reported missing by a snorkelling gear rental shop.

 

He went into the water at Sairee Beach, the site of the gruesome double-murder of two British travelers in September.

 

Hanspeter reportedly left his passport and properties with the shop owner, who said he Swiss man did not take a life vest.

http://bangkok.coconuts.co//2014/11/11/swiss-snorkeller-goes-missing-koh-tao

[JaiDee]

This one seems to be innocent, PD.....especially compared to the bungling hatchet job [literally] done to those 2 poor English kids. However, it surely isn't a good idea to go diving or snorkeling during monsoon season, unless you are some kind of an expert.

[pdogg]

 

German Man Brutally Attacked By 'Koh Tao Copycats'

 

UDON THANI — A 25-year-old German man was admitted to the ICU after he was allegedly attacked by drunk teenagers in Udon Thani who wanted to imitate the brutal murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao island in September.

 

Police say the German man was sitting with two Thai friends near a park in Udon Thani's Muang District in the early morning of 15 November when three Thai teenagers suddenly attacked him with a garden hoe. 

 

The man is now being treated for severe injuries in the ICU at Udon Thani Hospital. Medical workers say he suffered wounds on his face and skull that required immediate operation. According to a doctor at the hospital, there's only "50-50" percent chance that he will survive.

 

The attack also left one of the German's friends with a broken arm, police say. 

Police have arrested three suspects, two 18-year-olds and one 17-year-old, in connection with the crime.

Pol.Col. Surin Chaichomphu, deputy commander of Udon Thani Police, announced the arrests of the two men, named Thanakorn Khusuwan and Surachet Sripolmuang, at the press conference yesterday. The third suspect, nicknamed Wuth, was not present at the press conference because he is a minor. 

 

According to Pol.Col. Surin, both men confessed to assaulting the German man. 

 

Thanakorn and Surachet reportedly told police that they were drinking at Wuth's house on 14 November. After they became drunk, the teenagers reportedly drove around town on a motorcycle until they came across the German man and his friends at the park. They also brought a garden hoe as "protection" in case they encountered any rival gang members, Pol.Col. Surin said.

 

After seeing the German and his friends, the three teenagers reportedly dared each other to imitate the murder of two British backpackers on the southern island of Koh Tao on 15 September, in which the tourists were brutally beaten to death by a garden hoe. 

Wuth reportedly accepted the challenge "out of drunkenness" and proceeded to beat the German and his friends with the garden hoe he had brought from home. The other two suspects soon joined in, Pol.Col. Surin said.

 

"This action is a typical case of youthful recklessness," Pol.Col. Surin said at the press conference. "The three suspects are all students. But now they have ruined their future."

 

All three suspects have been charged with physical assault leading to grave injuries. Pol.Col. Surin said a murder charge will also be filed if the man dies from his injuries. 

 

Pol.Lt.Col. Kachornsak Wongsaraj, a detective officer at Muang Udon Thani Police Station, told reporters that the German victim works as a language tutor for Udon Thani residents who plan to move to Germany. 

 

The German was at the park in the early hours of 15 November because he likes to watch the sunrise, Pol.Lt.Col. Kachornsak added.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1416208877