Two Tourists Brutally Murdered on Koh Tao, One Raped: Police Spark Thailand Manhunt

**terry57** · 18-11-2014, 06:52 PM

What does everyone expect to come out of the British detectives report ?

They inspected the murder scene well after the fact, they have looked at how the Thais reported and investigated the murder scene and have more than likely sat in on interviews with the two Burmese.

Even if they give a negative report the Thais will ignore it. The British detectives mean nothing to the Thais.

Totally irrelevant they are.

**septimus** · 18-11-2014, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by terry57

What does everyone expect to come out of the British detectives report ?

They inspected the murder scene well after the fact, they have looked at how the Thais reported and investigated the murder scene and have more than likely sat in on interviews with the two Burmese.

Even if they give a negative report the Thais will ignore it. The British detectives mean nothing to the Thais.

Totally irrelevant they are.

Truthfully not a lot..

But if they were allowed. Much
They are making great inroads with The Madeline McCann case. Years later.
Sep

**Bower** · 18-11-2014, 08:22 PM

Terry, they will not give in, they will make their report to the coroner.
Regardless of the Thai police and courts verdicts, if the coroner feels the Thai system is 'unreliable' he or she will return a verdict of murder by person or persons unknown. DNA evidence will be kept onfile. It will again fill the press with a macarbre storyline. In 2012 Jack McCullough (a former police officer) was convicted of a murder he had commited in 1957. Cold cases are reviewed even ones where the crime was commited abroad.

The Thais and you may well be right about tourists eventually retuning in their numbers but someone somewhere is thinking how much it has cost to protect these vile murderers................My thoughts anyway

**Rudolph** · 19-11-2014, 11:49 AM

You can tell how much some of the younger Thais care (the rich untouchable ones and the younger, poorer, resentful ones) by the jeering photos of them with steel hoes, and the copycat (attempted) murder of another young farang with a steel hoe to the head for a bit of fun.

Thainess, ka.

For some reason it reminds me of the two young Thais videoing themselves slapping elderly farangs on the heads with their sandals in Chiang Mai, and the 19 yr old Thai who stabbed the 70 year old Swiss man because they brushed past each other in the street.

He was fined 500b and released.

**Troy** · 19-11-2014, 12:01 PM

Originally Posted by BobR

Are the British Police that observed the so called investigation writing their report with a crayon, or is intense political negotiation going on concerning how candid that report will be? Seems they've had enough time to at least make a statement, it's not like any investigation would be jeopardized by such comment.

They appear to have spooked the Thai courts into not accepting the RTP version as it stands.

They may be giving the Thais enough time to reinvestigate or enough rope before making their comments. I'm not sure the Thais can be trusted enough to negotiate other issues....

**Chittychangchang** · 20-11-2014, 05:04 AM

Thai police under fire over human rights abuse
A REPORT accusing the Thai police of serious human rights abuses in the investigation into the murder of a Jerseyman and a woman from the UK is due to be published.

The claim surrounds the investigation into the murders of Islander David Miller (24) and 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge from Norfolk on the Island of Koh Tao in September.

A sub-committee of Thailand’s National Human Rights Council, lead by Dr Niran Pitakwatchara, has been examining claims that Burmese men Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun were tortured into confessing to the murders.

Full report in Wednesday's JEP.
Thai police under fire over human rights abuse « Jersey Evening Post

**septimus** · 20-11-2014, 01:33 PM

The two Burmese suspects went to court yesterday for the 5th time. Again thet were detained for anothrt week. Only two more to go before they should be released. What's the odd?
Sep

**YOrlov** · 20-11-2014, 07:31 PM

^^ That's the Jersey Evening Post's way of hooking you, they wil have a report on Wednesday, not the NHRC. Incidentally don't hold your breath these guys will be Zaw and Win's saviours according to Drummond;

KOH TAO MURDERS - WILL THAI POLICE BE ASKED TO INVESTIGATE THEIR OWN TORTURES? - Andrew Drummond

The two young Burmese men charged with the murder of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on the Thai island of Koh Tao were hit, suffocated with plastic bags, and threatened they would be drowned if they did not confess – the Thai National Human Rights Commission said today.
And if Thai police, who ignored four summonses in a row to a hearing in Bangkok, continue refuse to answer the charges, that will remain the record, said Human Rights Commissioner Niran Pitakwatchara.

The Human Rights Commission would take charges against police, but they cannot because the Thai Military Junta has abolished the 2007 constitution, which gave the commission its powers of prosecution.

The matter has been referred to Thailand’s FBI – the Department of Special Investigations – but the DSI cannot accept new cases without a board meeting and if they cannot find a loophole in the law – the matter may have to be passed back to Thailand’s controversial police force to investigate themselves.
[ the DSI has had its Board disbanded, it is now unable to vote to take up any cases]

So far the prosecutor on the island of Koh Samui has sent back, what Thai police claimed was a ‘textbook case’ three times for revision. The police have 84 days from date of first court appearance to bring the Burmese, Zaw Lin and Win Saw Htan, both 21, to trial.

The National Human Rights Commission says it has also come across a conspiracy of silence over the murders.

**Sumocakewalk** · 20-11-2014, 08:24 PM

Thai PBS News
November 20, 2014

The National Police Office will fully cooperate with the National Human Rights Commission in the latter’s investigation into an allegation of police torture to extract confession from two suspects in the Koh Tao murder case.

Pol Lt-Gen Prawuth Thavornsiri, spokesman of the NPO, said today that Pol Maj-Gen Suwat Chaengyodsuk, depty commissioner of Metropolitan Police Bureau will show up before the NHRC’s sub-committee to explain to the panel regarding police treatment of the two suspects during their interrogation.

He said that since the probe panel let the police choose to give the explanation on November 24 or December 29, the police decided to opt for December 29.

The spokesman insisted that previously the NPO was not officially notified to explain to the panel and did not do so. However, he assured that the police are fully cooperative with the NHRC.

The two suspects are foreign migrant workers from Myanmar. They are being held in Koh Samui pending trial.

Police to defend against torture allegation before NHRC - Thai PBS English News

**Rudolph** · 20-11-2014, 08:56 PM

So that's after the date that the B2 must be charged or released (probably detained for illegal immigration status until repatriated, if so.)

Being released could be a dangerous road for them, if released without charge, the Thais could make a big declaration that they are completely free to go, then quietly off to an immigration detention center, where documents can be lost and detention become fatally uncomfortable without people watching.

**YOrlov** · 20-11-2014, 09:45 PM

http://www.theguardian.com/…/burmese-murder-accused-british…

Note this; Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo – the latter of whom was previously and incorrectly named by authorities as Win Zaw Htun

Thursday 20 November 2014 13.16 GMT
Two Burmese men detained in Thailand for allegedly killing the British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have told the Guardian they are innocent and have appealed to the victims’ families and the UK government to help them clear their names.

In their first media interview since being arrested almost eight weeks ago, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 21, stressed their sorrow over the deaths of the Britons, whose battered bodies were found on a beach on the holiday island of Koh Tao on 15 September. But they said they were not involved and asked UK authorities to share with their lawyers the results of a Metropolitan police review of the Thai investigation.

The pair described their shock at being accused, and their concerns for their parents in Burma, who were reliant on the men’s earnings from bar work on Koh Tao.
The pair, who were arrested a fortnight after the double murder and face a possible death penalty, passed the Guardian an open letter addressed to the victims’ parents.
Handwritten in Burmese, and with their names signed in English, it reads: “We are really distraught about the loss of your children, and we share your grief. But we want to stress to you that we didn’t do anything wrong, and this crime was nothing to do with us.
“In order that the truth can be revealed, we want to ask for help from all of you to ensure that we get access to information that the British government has. We would like this information to be shared with our lawyers so the truth can come out. We really want to express our thanks for your help.”

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo – the latter of whom was previously and incorrectly named by authorities as Win Zaw Htun – initially admitted to the murder of Miller, 24, who suffered head injuries and drowned in shallow water, and the rape and murder of Witheridge, 23, who died from severe head injuries. Police said they were motivated by sexual jealousy after seeing the Britons together on the beach.
However, the men then retracted their confessions, saying they had been tortured and threatened with death by their interrogators.
Thai police say they have DNA evidence linking the men to the crime. However, there have been doubts about the way this evidence was collected, especially given that a number of people walked across the murder scene before it was sealed off.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International have become involved, noting that Burmese migrant workers have previously been wrongly accused of crimes by Thai police.
The authorities had been under pressure to solve this particular murder case quickly as it threatened the country’s vital tourism industry.
A month after the murders the Foreign Office in London took the rare step of summoning a senior Thai diplomat to express its concern about the way the investigation had been handled. A Metropolitan police team flew to Thailand to review the case. The Foreign Office says the report has yet to be completed.
The suspects handed the letter to the Guardian on Wednesday at a court hearing in Koh Samui, the larger island near Koh Tao which acts as the local administrative centre, during which they were remanded in custody for a further 12 days.

The pair are not permitted to have documents in jail, so they wrote the letter in court.
During breaks in the hearing the men, dressed in baggy, numbered prison tunics, with their legs manacled by heavy chains, were able to answer questions via a translator.
Wai Phyo said the pair were placing much of their hope on British interest in the case. He said: “We want the parents of the victims and the British government to come together and help us fight for justice. We’re very sad at what happened and we want the people of Britain to know that we didn’t do it.
“I felt very scared when we were arrested, and also very shy that all these people were looking at me. I didn’t know what was happening. I am not a bad person. I’m a good person.”

Zaw Lin said he was worried about his family in Burma: “My father has died and I was providing for my mother. I’m just really worried about her now. Now we just want to go back to Burma. We don’t want to work here any more. I don’t care about being poor, I just want to be at home with my family.”
The pair said that on the night of the murder they had been drinking heavily and playing guitar on the beach, and by late evening were “so drunk we couldn’t walk properly”. They both said they had no idea who carried out the crime.
A number of reports have linked the killings to powerful Thai families in the region, where there has long been allegations of heavy involvement of organised crime in the tourism industry. Foreign Office advice to Britons travelling to Koh Tao and its neighbouring islands warns of regular sexual assaults and robberies.
The Burmese men remain in prison while police continue to compile a report for prosecutors, a document which has already been rejected by the lawyers several times. The men can be detained for a maximum of 84 days, meaning they must be tried or released by Christmas.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said she could not comment on the case until the Metropolitan police report was completed, after which the victims’ families would meet police officers.

“Detectives from the United Kingdom, who were in Thailand reviewing the investigation into the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, have returned to the UK to compile their report and to update the families of Hannah and David on their findings,” she said. “The police team wish to thank the Thai authorities for facilitating the visit. It is not possible to make any further comment about the review at this time.”

**misskit** · 21-11-2014, 06:33 AM

Koh Tao murder suspects detained for another 12 days

The Koh Samui provincial court on Thursday ordered two Myanmar suspects in Koh Tao murder case detained for another 12 days pending more interrogations of the suspects.
This was the fifth detention ordered by the court out of a total of seven of 12 days each as permitted by the law. The court however instructed the police to speed up the process so as not to keep the two suspects under detention for too long.

The two suspects, Win and Zorin, were presented before the court by the public prosecutor who wanted to seek the court’s order to hold them in detention for another round of 12 days.

The defence lawyer, MrNakhonChompoochart, said he would challenge the prosecutor’s demand for further detention of the suspects because he thought further detention was unjustified as the suspects had already been detained for 48 days.

MrVeeravuthPrammahan, the deputy public prosecutor of SuratThani, told the court that police were to question the suspects further and the prosecutor were to question the suspects too regarding their complaint that they were tortured by the police.

Koh Tao murder suspects detained for another 12 days - Thai PBS English News

**BobR** · 21-11-2014, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by Troy

Originally Posted by BobR

Are the British Police that observed the so called investigation writing their report with a crayon, or is intense political negotiation going on concerning how candid that report will be? Seems they've had enough time to at least make a statement, it's not like any investigation would be jeopardized by such comment.

They appear to have spooked the Thai courts into not accepting the RTP version as it stands.

They may be giving the Thais enough time to reinvestigate or enough rope before making their comments. I'm not sure the Thais can be trusted enough to negotiate other issues....

There really cannot be much left to investigate unless they want to go after the real murderers. By the way, yes I did attend Homicide Investigation School at Cal State San Jose.

**blue** · 21-11-2014, 07:11 AM

post 2311

Originally Posted by YOrlov

The pair said that on the night of the murder they had been drinking heavily and playing guitar on the beach, and by late evening were “so drunk we couldn’t walk properly”

I know I'm the odd one out here , but i'm still not convinced they are innocent.
Maybe they were so drunk they cant remember.
Those copycat attackers up north were similarly drunk, same age etc.

Originally Posted by YOrlov

The pair described their shock at being accused, and their concerns for their parents in Burma, who were reliant on the men’s earnings from bar work on Koh Tao

so what bar did they work in , and were they working earlier that night ?

**rickschoppers** · 21-11-2014, 10:43 AM

^
What proof do you have that they are guilty. INNOCNET until proven GUILTY, and all that.

Hopefully you are not just using your instinct.

**Stranger** · 21-11-2014, 09:22 PM

Maybe blue did it?.....that's why he's become so obsessed with pinning it on the Burmese patsies.

**YOrlov** · 21-11-2014, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by misskit

Koh Tao murder suspects detained for another 12 days

The Koh Samui provincial court on Thursday ordered two Myanmar suspects in Koh Tao murder case detained for another 12 days pending more interrogations of the suspects.
This was the fifth detention ordered by the court out of a total of seven of 12 days each as permitted by the law. The court however instructed the police to speed up the process so as not to keep the two suspects under detention for too long.

The two suspects, Win and Zorin, were presented before the court by the public prosecutor who wanted to seek the court’s order to hold them in detention for another round of 12 days.

The defence lawyer, MrNakhonChompoochart, said he would challenge the prosecutor’s demand for further detention of the suspects because he thought further detention was unjustified as the suspects had already been detained for 48 days.

MrVeeravuthPrammahan, the deputy public prosecutor of SuratThani, told the court that police were to question the suspects further and the prosecutor were to question the suspects too regarding their complaint that they were tortured by the police.

Koh Tao murder suspects detained for another 12 days - Thai PBS English News

Uh The prosecutor is going to question them? Hope that's just one of the usual and frequent mistranslations, prosecutor can only question them in a courtroom, er,.. well I am assuming that. TiT.

**septimus** · 21-11-2014, 11:11 PM

It seems that by changing and altering the rules the general is doing what he can to help the bib. Still they can't make a case. I wander if he is regtetting heaping so much praise on them? Naa suppose not, birds of a feather.
sep

**Lancelot** · 22-11-2014, 01:55 AM

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

^
What proof do you have that they are guilty. INNOCNET until proven GUILTY, and all that.

Hopefully you are not just using your instinct.

+1

Look at the photos of the slightly built, baby faced Burmese guys; then compare them with the two Thai guys that were going to help the Scot 'hang himself'

Koh Tao Murders - Don?t Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major - Andrew Drummond

At the very least the Thai police should have framed a couple of more menacing looking guys...

**BaitongBoy** · 22-11-2014, 02:34 AM

^The "expert" has spoken...

**blue** · 22-11-2014, 04:32 AM

The Burmese immigrants - why do i think they are people of interest?
They were :
on the beach that night.
legless drunk.
working for thr AC bar family , in some bar -so may have seen/ known/ interacted with the Brits.

They have a motive- they see all the backpackers guys , and imagine they are rich and getting constant sex every night, not realizing many are near skint and get little or no sex..

One played a guitar, as did that Scot who said he was due to meet the British that evening but missed him because he was was asleep hungover. Perhaps the Brits went to the beach looking for the Scot but came into contact with the Burmese instead, and it all kicked off somehow

If guilty, they now have a chance to get off - a get out of free card - the one the politically correct liberals have handed them -and i think they may be playing it .

Yes they may well be innocent , but no harm in keeping them locked up until it's sorted .
Why are their lawyers and supporters just screaming about torture all the time
why aren't they demanding an independent dna test ?

People here are saying the Burmese look too soft , too baby faced etc
to be guilty.
ok lets compare them two below :

and the Thais that were caught attacking a German man recently in the copycat hoe attack in Udon Thani.
Both pairs look exactly the same to me ....
if the Thais were capable why not the Burmese ?

https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...d-koh-tao.html (German Man Brutally Attacked By 'Koh Tao Copycats')

**rickschoppers** · 22-11-2014, 08:43 AM

Using your logic blue, everyone on the beach that night that was drunk and been to a bar where there are Brits would be people of interest. That encompases just about everyone and more SOLID proof is needed to pin this crime on someone.

The trail has grown cold and as time passes the liklyhood of finding the killer(s) decreases exponentially.

**BobR** · 22-11-2014, 10:04 AM

^^ Your rationale is getting more and more ridiculous.

**patsycat** · 23-11-2014, 12:16 AM

So, how did their sperm get on Hannah's body?

**tomta** · 23-11-2014, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by patsycat

legless drunk.

I was under the impression that they had - between three people - bought a bottle of beer or two. Correct me if I'm wrong.

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