Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

Post by caller »

T.O.M. wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 5:46 pm The alleged victim was sharing room with 4 male Brits at the hostel....probably drinking with them in the night...and one of them spiked her drink and took advantage of the situation and had sex with her.
Remember reading...."when she came to her senses, the perpetrator was lying grinning next to her"...Doesn't sound like the typical Thai rapist...
Taking the T-shirt back to the UK makes more sense, if the rapist was a fellow Brit.
Interesting quote from Thai PBS.....Pol Maj Gen Surachet said he talked to the hostel owner, Ms Pathra Jamtrakul, who told the police that she saw the British tourist cry and asked her what happened to her and was told she regretted having an affair with a male companion.
So really nothing to do with Thailand or Koh Tao....except for the island being the scene of the crime, where both the victim and the rapist were British...?
This is all just tittle-tattle.

But let me get this bit right: You say a Police Major General, has divulged what should be highly confidential information, albeit hearsay at best, and having relayed that to the media, which you have picked up somewhere, you conclude the lady was raped by a Brit? I somehow don't think that in a credible court of law, this would actually be accepted as evidence.

This was quite an interesting thread for me, as I haven't really followed this incident. I have reached the stage where because of the way Thailand operates, with it's deliberate or otherwise, use of obfuscation, aided by a largely compliant and unquestioning media and 'closed' judicial system, I simply have little faith the truth of anything is revealed.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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caller wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:19 pm This is all just tittle-tattle.

But let me get this bit right: You say a Police Major General, has divulged what should be highly confidential information, albeit hearsay at best, and having relayed that to the media, which you have picked up somewhere, you conclude the lady was raped by a Brit? I somehow don't think that in a credible court of law, this would actually be accepted as evidence.
yep, indeed, and mindless tittle tattle at that! Like Hilda Ogden and Dot Cotton gossiping over the garden fence while they hang their bed clothes out to dry.

The lack of basic critical thinking shown by some is astounding. A half-switched on 10 yr old would see the incompetence the Thai police have displayed in this one case alone, no to mention all the other shit that's gone down in KT. Yet here we have grown men displaying an embarrassing lack of simple commonsense, but at the same time thinking they have missed their calling and should have joined the flying squad.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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Sorry, BB. It was getting to be a bit of a pastime with some of us. I'll drop it in future, but I'm sure you know why it happens.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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Hilda Ogden and Dot Cotton
Showing your age mate! Don't worry I remember times even before they existed!!
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

Post by T.O.M. »

MDMK wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 11:03 pm
caller wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:19 pm This is all just tittle-tattle.

But let me get this bit right: You say a Police Major General, has divulged what should be highly confidential information, albeit hearsay at best, and having relayed that to the media, which you have picked up somewhere, you conclude the lady was raped by a Brit? I somehow don't think that in a credible court of law, this would actually be accepted as evidence.
yep, indeed, and mindless tittle tattle at that! Like Hilda Ogden and Dot Cotton gossiping over the garden fence while they hang their bed clothes out to dry.

The lack of basic critical thinking shown by some is astounding. A half-switched on 10 yr old would see the incompetence the Thai police have displayed in this one case alone, no to mention all the other shit that's gone down in KT. Yet here we have grown men displaying an embarrassing lack of simple commonsense, but at the same time thinking they have missed their calling and should have joined the flying squad.
Must be wonderful to be so mature, intelligent and know-it-all.
Does the victim anywhere claim that the alleged rapist was Thai?
Since the girl in question was staying with 4 male British friends, why was there no reaction from any of them? Maybe because one of them was the perpetrator? Did they leave Koh Tao with her?
I guess that eventually we will find out the truth.
No doubt that Koh Tao (and the neighboring islands) are mafia-run....with or without uniform...sewers, which attract a certain crowd. Accidents/crimes are bound to happen with young and inexperienced visitors...high or drunk...and no law enforcement. The blame to be equally shared by Thai authorities and the visitors.
All IMO of course....feel free to disagree, but without name calling please..
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

Post by caller »

T.O.M. wrote: Sat Sep 08, 2018 9:13 am Does the victim anywhere claim that the alleged rapist was Thai?
Since the girl in question was staying with 4 male British friends, why was there no reaction from any of them? Maybe because one of them was the perpetrator? Did they leave Koh Tao with her?
I guess that eventually we will find out the truth.
The problem is that everything you say is pure speculation and from such speculation, you are trying to reach a conclusion. As I said, I have no idea if she was raped or not, but by implying the perceived lack of reaction from 4 male Brits, actually counts for something or other, even assuming that is true, takes me back to my original reply. You are indulging in tittle-tattle.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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I'm giving up on this thread until anything more concrete arises (if ever). Everyone is entitled to an opinion but when it develops into pure conjecture, then we lose sight of the truth should that ever come out.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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Keep in mind the axioms about opinions: They're worth what you pay for them and like arseholes, everyone has one.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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Today's Times interviews the lady in question and she insists she was raped.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news ... -z2779whlw

Not sure if you will be able to view this if not a subscriber? There is a 4.18 minute video interview with the alleged victim, although she isn't identified.

Here's the report, courtesy of The Times:

Stay away from rape island, teenager warns backpackers

A teenager who was allegedly drugged, raped and robbed on Koh Tao has warned fellow backpackers not to visit the notorious Thai island.

The 19-year-old Briton, speaking for the first time about her ordeal, told The Times that the Thai authorities had tried to publicly discredit her rather than investigate her claims and did not offer basic support or forensic checks.

She accused them of suppressing the truth about the brutal attack, during a gap-year holiday over the summer, because it would have a negative impact on tourism. The alleged victim, from London, said: “I would urge other young people to stay away. I would never feel safe going back to Koh Tao.

“I wouldn’t tell people not to go to Thailand in general, it is one of my favourite countries. But it is a beautiful place with a dark side that blinds you.” Koh Tao is popular among British backpackers but became notorious in 2014 when Hannah Witheridge, 23, and her friend David Miller, 24, were bludgeoned to death on the beach. It has since become known as “death island” after several unexplained backpacker deaths.

Police have been accused of covering up crime to protect the island’s tourism industry, with more than 100,000 people visiting a year. Twelve people were threatened with arrest this week for sharing details of the latest alleged attack on Facebook.

The London woman said that she was attacked in the early hours of June 26 on Sairee beach, where Ms Witheridge was raped before her murder. She believes that her rum and coke was spiked with drugs in one of the bars along the beach. A male friend who ordered a drink at the same time suffered the same symptoms of drowsiness and then blackout. She felt tired and left the bar and cannot remember anything since.

Speaking from her home she said: “The next thing I remember is waking up. My shorts and underwear were off me. A Thai guy was standing over me. As I woke up he just smiled at me and then he took off. He’d taken my phone, my money, my cards. I had scratches down my leg. I had really bad burn grazes on my knee which I’ve got scars from. I was in a lot of pain and I was covered in sand.”

The woman suspects that she was targeted because she and her friends had been out drinking every night while they were there. However, she had drunk less than normal on the night in question because it was her last on Koh Tao, which means Turtle Island, and she had an early boat booked to the island of Koh Phangan, about 90 minutes away. “I was just in a state, I couldn’t talk to anyone, I was terrified,” she said. “I just wanted to get off the island.”

She took the boat to Koh Phangan where she reported the rape but she said that the police refused to take action because it was on another island.

They did not offer any support, carry out forensics or have a rape kit. They would only offer to give her a police report so that she could claim her stolen belongings on insurance, which she said was the last thing on her mind.

She flew home to England after a few days and a friend took the semen- covered T-shirt that she was wearing during the alleged attack back to police on Koh Tao. They refused three times to accept it.

It was only after the alleged victim’s mother spoke out because she was so horrified by the lack of action that a police inquiry was opened last week.

Police have threatened to ban the woman from Thailand and claim that she made up the rape to cover up having sex with a British friend who was not her boyfriend, which she denies.

“I’m speaking out because I hope that they see I’m not out to get Thailand, I’m just asking for some respect and some help. Other people will not go to Koh Tao eventually if this keeps going on. Eventually there’s going to be too many cases like me because they’re not catching the right person. I feel like they’re misinterpreting my motives, that they think I hate Thailand and I want it to suffer. That’s the last thing I want as it’s one of my favourite places. I wouldn’t tell other people not to go elsewhere in Thailand, but they should be careful.”

Edit. There are a couple of interesting comments in response to this report.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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Thanks for posting that Caller, I would have missed it otherwise. Got to see part of the article and all of the video, but I can't read the comments without subscribing (pity). Even their free 1 month subscription requires a payment method.

She also states clearly (this for T.O.M) that her (alleged) attacker was a Thai male.

I hadn't heard earlier that one of her male travelling companions was also saying his drink too had been spiked and he suffered similar black out and feeling ill the next day etc.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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MDMK wrote: Sat Sep 08, 2018 10:57 pmI can't read the comments without subscribing (pity).
Thinking about it, of the 4 comments so far, only 2 have relevance to this matter, sort of:

A friend of mine, Christina Annesley, died there in mysterious circumstances a few years ago. Her poor parents are still to this day trying to find out what exactly happened to her.

(https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-u ... a61be54f24)

Who in their right mind would go on holiday on an island where two young people were murdered doing the self same thing. What were her parents thinking!
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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thanks for copying those Caller. And if I am honest those are my thoughts too. I wouldn't want my 19yr old going there. Hell, I wouldn't go myself.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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that article only got 2 comments, if true, the first one is the stuff of nightmares.
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

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caller wrote: Sat Sep 08, 2018 8:45 pm Today's Times interviews the lady in question and she insists she was raped.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news ... -z2779whlw
................
It will be interesting to see if any of the local English Language publications pick up on this story this week. I would think the Gov has already issued a ban. We'll see. Pete
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Re: Thailand's dark side: why you really shouldn't visit Koh Tao

Post by T.O.M. »

MDMK wrote: Sat Sep 08, 2018 10:57 pm Thanks for posting that Caller, I would have missed it otherwise. Got to see part of the article and all of the video, but I can't read the comments without subscribing (pity). Even their free 1 month subscription requires a payment method.

She also states clearly (this for T.O.M) that her (alleged) attacker was a Thai male.

I hadn't heard earlier that one of her male travelling companions was also saying his drink too had been spiked and he suffered similar black out and feeling ill the next day etc.
I clearly was wrong...!! But this is the first mentioning of a Thai male (That I have heard of)
Sadly that probably means that the alleged perpetrator is from one of the influential families on the island.....hence the police's denial of that any rape took place and the fact that no local witnesses have dared to come forward.
No doubt...the DNA from the T-shirt will match a Burmese worker....Case solved
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