Tourists murdered on Koh Tao

[Nereus]

^^^^^^

She added: “The police didn’t look at his room or the area where he was found. There was no attempt to investigate.
"They spent most of their time laughing and joking as we asked questions.”

This part I can believe without reservation! I have seen it happen several times when something serious is in question. Some form of twisted logic where they seem to think that laughing will make the victim feel better!

[GLCQuantum]

It's been said before, but... Thai Police have perfectly (not a word much used in the same sentence as them) played out the moral lesson behind the story, 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'.

I for one will be using this moral lesson, with the comparison to Thai Police, as soon as students return from their break.

[HHTel]

British police have been asked to conduct their own independent DNA tests as the Thai investigations into the murders of two Britons plunged into disarray today.

Lawyers for two Burmese men arrested for the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller asked Thailand's National Human Rights Commission to press British police to help with the case.

The new development came as the Burmese lawyers said the men, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21, had retracted their earlier confessions.


Thai prosecutors have also said the 300 page dossier presented to them by police had holes in it and further evidence was required.

The National Human Rights Commission has also decided to send a team to Koh Tao to examine the crime scene, The Nation newspaper reported today.

Thai police have come under intense criticism locally and internationally for the way they have handled the case since the bodies of the two Britons were found on Koh Tao's Sairee Beach on the morning of September 15.


They failed to seal off the crime scene and issued a number of conflicting statements before announcing that the two Burmese men had been arrested.

But the bar workers claimed later that their 'confessions' had been forced from them under duress. They said the bruises on their bodies proved they had been beaten by police.

Detectives denied this and said DNA evidence matching samples from the body of Miss Witheridge and the two men was evidence of their guilt.

Prosecutors, however, said the evidence was still not strong enough to take the men to court and they have asked police to re-submit their file on the case after adding evidence that was required to make it watertight.


The insistence that more evidence was required has now prompted the men's lawyers to ask for an independent examination of the DNA evidence.

The lawyers have called on both the Human Rights Commission as well as the Myanmar (Burmese) Embassy in Thailand to make approaches to Scotland Yard and ask for a forensic team to look at the DNA evidence.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... sions.html

Too little too late!

[Dannie Boy]

Thai Diplomat summoned to the UK FCO in London

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29604685

The Thai charge d'affaires has been summoned to the UK Foreign Office over concerns about the inquiry into the murders of two British tourists.

Hannah Witheridge, 23, and 24-year-old David Miller were killed in an attack on the island of Koh Tao last month.

Minister of State Hugo Swire said there was "real concern" about how the investigation had been handled.

Two Burmese workers are said to have confessed to killing the pair, who were discovered on a beach on 15 September.

Police in Thailand have denied subsequent reports that the two men had withdrawn their confessions.

Post-mortem examinations found Mr Miller, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds.

'Fair and transparent'
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said the summons of Nadhavathna Krishnamra followed a call made by Mr Swire to Thailand's deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

In a statement, the FCO said: "Mr Swire stressed that there was a real concern in the UK about how the investigation has been handled by the Thai authorities.

"He said that it was crucial for the investigation to be conducted in a fair and transparent way.

"Mr Swire emphasised how important it was that the UK and Hannah and David's families received regular updates on the investigation's progress.

"He also noted his concern about the way that the police had engaged with the media on the case and reiterated that the UK police stood ready to assist with the investigation and subsequent legal process."

The FCO previously said it was "concerned" about reports the Burmese workers have been mistreated by Thai police and had raised those concerns with the relevant authorities

[Jack Sprat]

This is hilarious!!!

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/social/ ... -observers

“The British and Myanmar governments are ready to send a team of observers to monitor the process and the police chief said he was willing to accept,” Mr Sek said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha meanwhile welcomed the idea, saying the Thai government is willing to explain the full details of the case, since officers have been handling the matter competently. But he denied that the Thai charge d’affaires in the UK had been “summoned”. ????????
“They did not summon us. We went to provide clarification to them,” he said. “We went to show them how we work.”

He said British authorities may have been surprised that Thai police were able to arrest the suspects, given that reports in the Thai media had implied the force was unlikely to apprehend them.

“Myanmar and Britain monitor Thai media, including social media, which could have confused them,” Gen Prayut said. “It is quite normal for them to ask for clarification in the case. It doesn’t mean they don’t trust our judicial system.”

Dear God.....Poor Thailand.....whilst this moron is in charge, there is little hope of any progress.
Let's hope they elect a government VERY soon, so a least there will be someone with some semblance of a brain making decisions.

[buksida]

Look Beyond Burmese ‘Scapegoats’ in Thai Murder Case
Two Burmese migrant workers should not be the primary suspects in an increasingly high-profile double murder case in Thailand, a migrant rights group says, as a pre-trial hearing got underway on Tuesday.

Htoo Chit, executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development (FED), said his group had interviewed the two suspects, three witnesses that prosecutors will use, and Thai and Burmese citizens living on the island of Koh Tao, where the murders took place. The Thailand-based NGO made a fact-finding mission from Oct. 4 to 9, during which they bore witness to injuries on some Burmese migrants who were interrogated that were indicative of torture, as has previously been alleged.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/look-bey ... group.html

[Dannie Boy]

UK police to travel to Thailand to help in the murder case http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29668785

[buksida]

Foreign investigators barred from Thailand
Foreign countries are not permitted to have investigators look into crimes that occur in Thailand, as that would be considered a violation of the country's sovereignty, Police chief Pol General Somyot Pumpunmuang said yesterday.

He was referring to the murder of Britons David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on Koh Tao last month. Doubts have been raised about the police investigation that led to the arrest of two migrant workers from Myanmar, with many people claiming that the pair are scapegoats.

In a meeting initiated by the Thai side with Somyot earlier this week, the United Kingdom and Myanmar ambassadors said they wanted their representatives involved in the investigation.

"No matter what laws are taken into account, be it Britain's laws or those of other countries, foreign investigators cannot take part in cases that take place in Thailand as this would violate the Kingdom's sovereignty," the police chief insisted.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 45741.html

[dtaai-maai]

^^And yet...

"UK police to work on Thai murder inquiry"

A team of British police are to fly to Thailand to work with their counterparts in the investigation into the murders of two British backpackers as concerns mount over the suspects’ alleged mistreatment.

On the sidelines of a summit in Milan on Friday David Cameron obtained an agreement from the Thai prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, that British investigators be sent to Koh Tao, a Downing Street source said.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014 ... er-inquiry

Of course, how much actual investigating they'll get to do remains to be seen...

[hhfarang]

And even from the Nation, the same paper that said otherwise above:

"Thailand agrees to British police help over murders"

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 45755.html

[richard]

PM and Police chief not in sync.

I think help is too strong a word. Observe will be the order of the day. At the end of the day the MIB will not want to lose face nor will the PM. Imagine the stink and shame if Scotland yard tear holes in the police work. I suppose at best the PM might gain some brownie points if he eventually removes the police involved and gains cred for getting rid of some corruption.

[dtaai-maai]

I'm not sure what they'll be observing, since the investigation is long since completed. They'll be shown the crime scene, maybe allowed to speak to some hand-picked witnesses (are there any?) and be shown the confessions, which will have to be read to them as they'll be in Thai.

The bottom line, IMO, will be the DNA samples. These will be retested in a British lab, confirmed as being the suspects' DNA, with reservations expressed by the UK police about how the samples were gathered. And that, I suspect, will be pretty much that.

[Khundon1975]

PM and Police chief not in sync.

I think help is too strong a word. Observe will be the order of the day. At the end of the day the MIB will not want to lose face nor will the PM. Imagine the stink and shame if Scotland yard tear holes in the police work. I suppose at best the PM might gain some brownie points if he eventually removes the police involved and gains cred for getting rid of some corruption.

Yes Richard

The boys from the yard will spend a couple of hours taking notes and being taught how to point and the following 2 weeks getting a tan.

[Dannie Boy]

PM and Police chief not in sync.

I think help is too strong a word. Observe will be the order of the day. At the end of the day the MIB will not want to lose face nor will the PM. Imagine the stink and shame if Scotland yard tear holes in the police work. I suppose at best the PM might gain some brownie points if he eventually removes the police involved and gains cred for getting rid of some corruption.

Yes Richard

The boys from the yard will spend a couple of hours taking notes and being taught how to point and the following 2 weeks getting a tan.

Yes, the only happy ending will be if they manage to fit in a massage in between the sunbathing!!

[usual suspect]

Please correct me if I'm wrong here..but a few years ago when for weeks after poor Toby's untimely death the HH MiB repeated told the press they the case was still no nearer to being solved & were doing all they could.
Later on word got passed down here that the team of UK CID that were coming to BKK to show the capital's dectectives 'western ideas' in crime-solving were going to be sent straight to HH to 'assist' solving Toby's case before their work up in BKK...well would you believe it..? Within 2-3 days of this announcment the local MiB had cracked the case..!
One kinda hopes with the threat of 'outsiders' coming to the island that the same may happen again...??