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

That may happen in a Western country, but in Thailand he and his family would have unfortunate "accidents" if he were to spill the beans.

Hannah's sister died a few days ago as well.

30 years old.

That poor family.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Hannah's sister died a few days ago as well.

30 years old.

That poor family.

See news RIP.

As Chitty said boycott the island until something is done. Nothing speaks louder to most governments than money.

Originally Posted by Chittychangchang

See news RIP.

See what?

You folks continue to exist in a revolving illusion.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

See what?

Ruddy predictive text.

Sad

Originally Posted by Latindancer

That may happen in a Western country, but in Thailand he and his family would have unfortunate "accidents" if he were to spill the beans.

Yeah, I was wondering he might have "disappeared" shortly after his reassignment. Everyone knows the mafia family did it. So sad for the two innocent men in jail now for almost 5 years.

Originally Posted by HuangLao

You folks continue to exist in a revolving illusion.

Says the bloke who knows fuck all about anything.

Jeff perceives us as passing illusions in the windmills of his mould-filled mind.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

As Chitty said boycott the island until something is done. Nothing speaks louder to most governments than money.

Unfortunately, the story should have a been a lot bigger, and generated more of a fuss overseas than it did. Probably abetted by Scotland Yard's unbelievable capitulation to the Thai's version of events.

Thailand's "justice" system:

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/judge-s...8On4nFyC-6PvUs

^Ruddy help!

A judge, Mr. Kanakorn Pianchana, shot himself in the chest in an apparent suicide attempt after delivering a verdict in Yala’s provincial court this afternoon (Friday).

Spokesman for the court said that Mr. Kanakorn is now out of danger after being rushed to the provincial hospital, adding that the judge might be suffering from stress.

A statement, purportedly written by Mr. Kanakorn, has been widely shared on social media and claims that he had been approached by someone who forced him to change the not guilty verdicts against five defendants, condemning three of them to death and sending another two to prison, despite the lack of sufficient evidence to convict any of them.

The judge claims that other junior judges in the court of first instance, like him, are also subjected to the same pressure.

He complained about the unfair treatment of judges in the court of first instance, such as working after office hours to write the verdicts without overtime pay and being forbidden from working in a second job to earn extra income, unlike doctors who can work at their own clinics after finishing their work in hospitals.

In the statement, the judge also urged lawmakers to amend the judicial charter to prevent senior judges from screening the verdicts of the judges in the court of first instance before they are delivered in court.

A statement, purportedly written by Mr. Kanakorn, has been widely shared on social media and claims that he had been approached by someone who forced him to change the not guilty verdicts against five defendants, condemning three of them to death and sending another two to prison, despite the lack of sufficient evidence to convict any of them.

I wonder if it names names?

From social media, this judge is turning into a heroic figure. Sure shows how the two Burmese boys got sold up the river.

You think? Brightenrock boys...

What's this got to do with the Two killers?
Extrapolation gone too far.

Thai police have publicly hit back at foreign media allegations that their forensics investigation into the highly-publicised 2014 murder case on Koh Tao did not meet international standards.
The publicity about their allegedly botched investigation began in 2014 with the brutal murder of two British tourists, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, on Koh Tao island off Surat Thani. Two Burmese men, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, were arrested over the crime.



Police spokesman Piya Uthayo referred to an online article posted by Fairfax media featuring statements made by Jane Taupin, an Australian forensics expert. The article, written by Lindsay Murdoch, questioned the standards and processes used to use DNA evidence in the murder case convictions.
Melbourne-based Jane Taupin says documents detailing how Thai investigators matched DNA from Myanmar workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun to the victims were not provided to a Thai court, in contravention of international DNA analysis and reporting standards.
Taupin visited Thailand in 2016 as a science witness for the defence case. Despite not being invited to join the police investigation, she accused the police’s forensic science laboratory of being “untrustworthy”.
Ms Taupin, an independent consultant who has examined DNA evidence for police agencies in Australia and the UK and has received several forensic science awards, travelled to Thailand expecting to testify in the case in July but she was not called to the stand.
But Piya says police produced DNA samples of the defendants in court, claiming they matched those collected at the crime scene. Based on this evidence, the court sentenced both young men to death. They remain in prison and are awaiting an answer on their application for a Royal Pardon.
Speculation has continued in the years following the investigation that ‘shady’ local Koh Tao residents had been involved but never prosecuted and that the two young Burmese men were ‘patsies’ in the case.



Piya said Royal Thai Police Forensics works under the same international standards as the FBI and performs its forensic work extremely scrupulously. The officers who performed the forensic probe appeared as witnesses, giving detailed explanations and addressing inquiries and objections raised by the defendants’ lawyer.
The two Burmese suspects initially confessed to the crime but later retracted the confession, saying they were forced to confess under torture. They maintained this story during the court case.
Last August, the Thai Supreme Court upheld the death sentences for the two Burmese men.
In September this year, the Thai Bar Council reported that the death sentences could be stayed if the Burmese government sent a formal letter of request for a royal pardon.


An Australian forensic scientist has questioned key DNA evidence that led to two migrant workers being sentenced to death for the gruesome murders of two British backpackers on an idyllic Thai island.
Melbourne-based Jane Taupin says documents detailing how Thai investigators matched DNA from Myanmar workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun to the victims were not provided to a Thai court, in contravention of international DNA analysis and reporting standards.


Myanmar workers Win Zaw Htun, right, and Zaw Lin, left, both 22, escorted by officials after they were convicted in December last year of the murder Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. CREDIT:AP
She also points out that DNA matching, a complex procedure requiring meticulous care, can only be determined on the basis of statistical probability in the population and none was presented to the court.


Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun have strenuously denied murdering David Miller, 24, and raping and murdering Hannah Witheridge, 23, on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand on September 14, 2014.


Killed in Thailand: British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.CREDIT:BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE
The Christmas eve convictions prompted protests across Myanmar and strained ties between the neighbouring countries.
The case has also focussed attention on Thailand's treatment of millions of migrant workers and damaged Thailand's tourist industry.
Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, who were working on the island, were arrested after weeks of intense pressure on police from Thailand's military rulers, the media and diplomats to solve the crime.


Police said the pair confessed to the killings but both men later retracted their statements, saying they were tortured.


Zaw Lin, left, and Win Zaw Htun during an October 2014 police press conference after their arrest on Koh Tao, Thailand.CREDIT:AP
After a 21 day trial, three judges of the Samui Criminal Court found that that the accused 22-year-olds bludgeoned Mr Miller to death with a hoe and then jointly raped Ms Witheridge while she lay unconscious after a late night beach party.
In a review of the DNA evidence obtained by Fairfax Media, Ms Taupin said no documents detailing the collection, movement, handling and chain of custody of DNA samples were provided to the court which is required under United States and United Kingdom codes of practice.


Protesting in Yangon, Myanmar, in December last year against a Thai court's verdict sentencing two Myanmar migrant workers to death.CREDIT:AP


"The scientific records were not provided for review (for whatever reason) and thus as a scientist I could not perform a scientific review, or determine whether these records accorded with the principles of the standard," she said.
Ms Taupin, an independent consultant who has examined DNA evidence for police agencies in Australia and the UK and has received several forensic science awards, travelled to Thailand expecting to testify in the case in July but she was not called to the stand.


Myanmar citizens rallying against a Thai court's verdict sentencing two Myanmar migrant workers to death for the murder of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. CREDIT:AP
Thailand's best-known forensic expert Pornthip Rojanasunand testified for the defence that the crime scene had been poorly managed and the collection of evidence "contradicted the principles of forensic science".
The prosecution provided only a one-page summary of their DNA tests, some of it handwritten, with parts crossed out and corrected, along with four supporting pages.


Ms Taupin said case file notes from the Thai police forensic laboratory should have been produced that showed a continuity of exhibits and the rationale for any scientific testing.
"Without these, any scientific review is limited and thus itself does not achieve a proper standard," she said.
Ms Taupin stressed her comments were not criticism of the court but a review of the DNA evidence that defence lawyers say will form the basis of an appeal.
Andy Hall, an advocate for migrants who advised defence lawyers in the case, said the defence requested additional DNA-related documents from the prosecution but they were not provided.
"I can confirm there were no documents in the case file that explained methods of DNA testing or any assumptions from the police side or explanation of results in detail," Mr Hall said.


"There were also no probability statistics provided for matches of DNA and nor was there any documents at court specifying evidence to support the substance/biological nature of the DNA profile," he said.
Mr Hall said the prosecution referred to DNA coming from sperm, saliva and skin but provided no evidence to back up the assertions.
He said the defence lawyers are confused how concerns about the DNA evidence were not raised or noted by the UK government which sent a team of detectives to review the investigation.
David Miller's brother Michael told reporters minutes after the judges delivered their verdict that justice had been delivered.
Thailand's military ruler Prayuth Chan-ocha has also angrily dismissed criticism of the case.


"They have a right to appeal, don't they? Isn't this the same legal practice all over the world?," he said.
Ms Taupin has worked on the case on a pro bono basis.

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Originally Posted by Chittychangchang

Mr Hall said the prosecution referred to DNA coming from sperm, saliva and skin but provided no evidence to back up the assertions.

He said the defence lawyers are confused how concerns about the DNA evidence were not raised or noted by the UK government which sent a team of detectives to review the investigation.

Originally Posted by Chittychangchang

But Piya says police produced DNA samples of the defendants in court, claiming they matched those collected at the crime scene. Based on this evidence, the court sentenced both young men to death.

And there is the crux of the matter.

Meanwhile, the fucktard and his buddies who murdered those two are still free and likely prospering.

Everyone should boycott Kho Tao, until the locals "deal" with the actual culprits.

Originally Posted by Agent_Smith

Meanwhile, the fucktard and his buddies who murdered those two are still free and likely prospering.

Everyone should boycott Kho Tao, until the locals "deal" with the actual culprits.

You are indeed correct that the killers are still there free to go about their business. They got away with it. The locals are powerless as the rich bar owners there hold all the Sakdina cards which clout even the government. This is Thailand.

Originally Posted by Agent_Smith

Everyone should boycott Kho Tao, until the locals "deal" with the actual culprits.

Ya recon do ya. ???

You know sweet fuk about Thailand don't ya.

The reason the locals stay quiet is because they themselves will be victim of the gun if they dare speak out.

Very small community where the locals know their place within that society and the normal local has zero power put up against the powerful local bar owners and affiliated Hi-So filth.

You complete idiot.

^I didn't say it would happen, oh fiery one.

Do you think there might be some some behind the scenes power plays if folks stopped going there -- for the explicit reason that foreigners got murdered and the real culprits got away with it?

Fact is, no one cares enough to actually boycott the island for that reason. Shit happens all over the place, and tolerance for giving a fuck is in short supply anyway.

So yeah, I agree. Wishful thinking.

But still...

Well,

I could tell ya some really good shit about my many years on Koh Tao and why i know what I'm talkin about.

Cheers eh.

And as far people stopping going there goes. ?????

Ya jokin aint cha.

Originally Posted by terry57

Well,

I could tell ya some really good shit about my many years on Koh Tao


.

Go on then.