Here is the Burmese side of the story, something you wont read in Thai newspapers:
Koh Tao murders: Zaw Linn details police torture
Testifying in a Koh Samui court on Wednesday, Zaw Linn, one of two Burmese migrants accused of murder and rape, said that he was innocent of the charges, and that he had only signed a confession after being tortured by police.
In a lengthy dialogue, the 22-year-old from Kyauktaw, Arakan State, said he was handcuffed, had a bag placed over his head, and was beaten, before police threatened to extract his teeth with pliers if he did not admit the crimes.
Speaking to DVB on Thursday, Moe Wai of the Foundation for Education and Development, who attended the trial on 2 September, said Zaw Linn had first told the court how he had come to work on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao two years ago.
On 15 September last year, he had phoned his friend Wai Phyo, the other suspect in the murder trial, and made an appointment to go out drinking beer as the following day was his holiday, Moe Wai said.
“Along with [another Burmese friend] Maung Maung, they played guitar and purchased cigarettes from 7-Eleven,” he continued. “After that, they went for a swim and then went home to sleep.”
The following morning, the bodies of English tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Sairee Beach. Both had been bludgeoned to death, while Miss Witheridge was also raped.
“Zaw Linn said the police came to arrest him on 1 October, some 15 days after the incident and during which time he had gone to work as usual,” the Burmese NGO worker said. “He said the police came to arrest him and six others in their room between midnight and 1am. They handcuffed him and put him in a car. The other six were taken elsewhere, while he said he was taken to a room, stripped naked, and tortured with a plastic bag over his head. He believes the translator, Ko Kamar, also beat him, perhaps under instruction from some police officers. Then they threatened to kill him.
“Asked by his lawyer where the interrogation took place, Zaw Linn said it was at the Ocean View Bungalows in Koh Tao. He said he was kept naked in the air-conditioned room and beaten, all the while with a plastic bag over his head. He said the police also threatened to pull out his teeth with pliers. He said he felt paralysed with fear. He also said he felt something shoved into his mouth, but couldn’t see what was happening.”
Later in the day’s proceedings, Moe Wai said, the Burmese suspect claimed that he was restrained while the police took a sample from his mouth.
“Zaw Linn then said he was handed a phone and made to speak to his friend, Wai Phyo, who had been arrested in Suratthani [on the Thai mainland]. Wai Phyo told him: ‘I can’t do this anymore – I’m going to die from torture’. Very scared and realising resistance would not work, at 4am, he confessed,” Moe Wai continued.
“After dawn on 2 October, Zaw Linn said, the police took his statement. He spoke only through the translator. He signed a confession and was fingerprinted. Then he was taken to jail.
Full Story:
http://www.dvb.no/news/koh-tao-murders- ... nmar/56989